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Internet-connected "smart" devices are increasingly available in the marketplace, including a growing industry of devices that monitor the human body. The authors of this report examine this emerging collection of Internet of Bodies (IoB) technologies; explore benefits, risks, and ethical implications; survey the nascent regulatory landscape; and make recommendations to balance IoB risks and rewards.
This appendix provides additional methodological and research material for two reports that summarize results of an August 2020 survey of Americans' attitudes about voting in November 2020. The August survey, a follow-up to one conducted in May with identical questions, focused on intention to vote, intended voting method, physical safety, and election integrity and indicated small changes in responses.
An August 2020 survey of Americans' attitudes about voting in November 2020 revealed small changes in responses compared with May 2020 responses to an identical survey that focused on physical safety, and election integrity. Changes were modest but notable, including an increase in uncertainty about election integrity.
An August 2020 survey of Americans' attitudes about voting in November 2020 revealed small changes in responses compared with May 2020 responses to an identical survey that focused on intention to vote and intended voting method. Changes were modest but notable, including some decline in intention to vote among those who were uncertain in May, and a shift from in-person to mail-in voting.
This report examines the global economic implications of COVID-19 vaccine nationalism and the associated inequitable access to vaccines across countries. It looks at the economic impact of physical distancing regulations and measures on five contact-intensive sectors, including hospitality, recreation, retail and wholesale, health and social care.
The emergence of COVID-19 in the United States in spring 2020 forced nearly all U.S. schools to transition rapidly to remote learning. Using responses to the American Educator Panels, RAND researchers investigate how schools' pre-pandemic planning translated into remote learning practices and principals' confidence in student achievement during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The authors examine liability and compensation issues relating to the future distribution and administration of a COVID-19 vaccine. They provide a brief history of how liability and compensation concerns have been addressed in previous public health threats, discuss how the global pandemic might complicate matters of legal immunity, and suggest consideration of appropriate compensation for adverse effects to encourage vaccinations.
Combating terrorism continues to be a focus of the U.S. government, and homegrown terrorists are a major concern. In this report, the author examines hundreds of U.S. residents who have traveled or attempted to travel to foreign lands to join or otherwise support terrorist organizations. The findings provide insight into the dimensions and nature of the terrorist threat and the effectiveness of the U.S. response.
The Department of Defense is developing brain-computer interface technology that allows the brain to communicate directly with machines. This technology may eventually be used, for example, to monitor a soldier's cognitive workload, control a drone swarm, or link with a prosthetic. However, the breadth of potential applications should be studied systematically, and policy, safety, legal, and ethical issues must be addressed before deployment.
RAND authors analyzed responses from 2,389 survey respondents about public safety, election integrity, and preparedness of local officials to manage the November 2020 election in the pandemic context. Responses indicate that although most voters say they believe that voting will be safe and that their vote will be counted despite the pandemic, those who question election safety and some who question election integrity appear less likely to vote.
Teachers' trust in institutions can influence their ability to counter Truth Decay—the diminishing role of facts and analysis in American public life—in public school classrooms. This Data Note, one in a series, describes survey responses from social studies teachers about their trust in such institutions as the government and media and their willingness to accept recommendations or information from such groups as scholars and medical doctors.
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted social safety net programs on which both those at risk of or currently experiencing homelessness and those involved with the criminal justice system depend. The authors of this report conducted interviews with social services organizations in Los Angeles County to assess how service providers are responding to COVID-19 and to compile lessons learned from and innovative strategies for dealing with the pandemic.
Police have expressed frustration with being expected to handle complex social problems, such as homelessness and substance use, that could be solved using nonenforcement strategies. In this Perspective, the authors describe police perspectives on defunding the police — i.e., budgeting less money for police and more for other public safety strategies — and explain why revisiting law enforcement's role in society could have broad appeal.
Describes an education policy game that would reveal the perspectives of different stakeholder groups on current education issues and offers some thoughts on game development and improvement.
State election laws on early voting, remote voting, and voter registration could have implications for the execution of an election under conditions brought on by the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. In this report, the authors summarize state election laws on early voting, remote voting, and voter registration, and they discuss the potential implications for the execution of the November 2020 general election.
Several voting and registration options are available to states to ensure the safety of elections despite the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. This report outlines these options, considering the factors that officials will have to examine in determining how to conduct the election safely; the advantages and challenges of each approach; and the levels of risk regarding safety, integrity, access, and logistics.
State election laws on voter registration, remote voting, and early voting could have implications for the execution of an election under conditions brought on by the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. This tool supplements a companion report and provides state-by-state granular details, including references to relevant state laws, about each of these aspects of voting.
Teachers play a crucial role in supporting students' civic development, which is one way of countering Truth Decay—the diminishing role of facts and analysis in American public life. This Data Note, one in a series, describes changes in high school social studies teachers' perspectives regarding the importance of teaching various topics related to students' civic development and regarding the role of social studies instruction more generally.
This report examines the privacy implications of the use of mobile phone surveillance programs for pandemics.
As part of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, governments worldwide have deployed mobile phone surveillance programs to augment public health interventions. However, these programs raise privacy concerns. The authors of this report examine whether two goals can be achieved concurrently: the use of mobile phones as public health surveillance tools to help manage COVID 19 and future crises, and the protection of privacy and civil liberties.
The disclosure of timely and accurate information can promote bottom-up problem-solving and adherence to coronavirus disease 2019 crisis-management policies. Open data portals could allow community members access to the most up-to-date information. In this Perspective, researchers use Los Angeles's open data portal to develop generalizable strategies that city leaders could adopt to improve the utility of their open data portals.
The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has been challenging for parents as schools and child care centers closed or switched to distance learning. Researchers examine which parents need the most support. Parents with children in different age groups and those with more financial difficulty appear to need more support than those whose children are closer in age and who are not struggling financially.
Public schools that serve kindergarteners through 12th graders can play a key role in combating Truth Decay by supporting students' civic development and engagement. Teachers' instructional materials provide one window into civic education in schools. This Data Note unpacks ways in which social studies teachers across the United States reported using instructional materials in their classrooms to teach civics.
Despite widespread stay-at-home orders as a response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, most Americans have not changed their online shopping habits. RAND researchers examine who was more likely to increase their online shopping habits and why. People in more-affluent households and those who are younger were more likely to increase their online shopping habits. Gender and urbanicity made very little difference.
This report describes key aspects of Israeli municipalities and explores (1) the adoption of a regional approach to address the fragmented nature of municipal governance, (2) the training and placement of personnel in managerial municipal positions, and (3) the improvement of education services—with a view toward strengthening the effectiveness and efficiency of local government in Israel for municipalities to be more-active agents for change.
