September 2017

blog

Exploring the Challenges Facing American Workers

A panel of experts at RAND discussed changes in the U.S. economy and findings from a survey that asked more than 3,000 Americans about issues they face in the workplace. Frequent hostility, rising inequality, slow wage growth, and changes in the demand for certain skills are some of the issues affecting workers.

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Helping Small Businesses Deal with Cyber Threats

Small businesses are especially vulnerable to cyber threats. What can be done to provide small businesses the security to continue to prosper, while enhancing America's cybersecurity workforce and making the economy more secure?

Quentin E. Hodgson @QHodgson

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Funders Using Bibliometrics Should Keep It Simple

Avoiding information overload is crucial for research grant decisions. The right guidance and training to panel members can help them make the most of bibliometrics as an evaluation tool to assist their decisions on research funding.

Salil Gunashekar, Susan Guthrie

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Sahel Governments Need More Security Assistance

Developments in the Sahel are cause for alarm. Despite the presence of an active French counterterrorism force and a UN peacekeeping mission, al Qaeda groups are thriving. The region would benefit from approaches that combine police and military operations with economic development and improved governance.

Michael Shurkin

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Chinese Bomber Flights Around Taiwan: For What Purpose?

Recent bomber flights near Taiwan represent the most concerted training regimen yet aimed at improving Chinese airpower. China seeks to enhance the PLA Air Force's capabilities and signal Beijing's will to defend its territorial claims against the U.S. and its regional allies and partners, especially Taiwan and Japan.

Nathan Beauchamp-Mustafaga, Derek Grossman @DerekJGrossman, et al.

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Joint Military Exercises Distract from Complex Russia-Belarus Relationship

Analysts and military leaders have concerns that Russia will use the Zapad 2017 exercise in Belarus as a smokescreen to put personnel and equipment in place, and keep it there. But the deep ties and history of cooperation between the two states make the chances of that happening unlikely.

Bruce McClintock @BHMcClintock, Bilyana Lilly

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The Early Bird Catches the Worm? Probably Not, Says Science on School Start Times

School start times are becoming a hotly debated topic across the United States. Starting middle and high schools at 8:30 a.m. would improve teen health, and the economic benefits of this shift would likely outweigh the costs.

Marco Hafner, Wendy M. Troxel @wendytroxel

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Why Houstonians Didn't Buy Flood Insurance

Thousands of Houston-area homeowners will face massive, uninsured losses due to flood damage. Few homeowners buy flood insurance unless they are required to, and it's only mandatory for homes with mortgages located in FEMA-defined high-risk flood zones. People tend to ignore low-probability risks.

Lloyd Dixon, Noreen Clancy

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Rethinking Disaster Evacuation

Before a storm hits, officials must decide whether to evacuate the public or advise them to shelter in place. Other, more targeted choices — such as sheltering in safer locations within a city — could be available if an analytic basis for making such judgments were fully developed.

Daniel M. Gerstein @Daniel_Gerstein, Andrew Lauland

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Beyond Strategic Patience with North Korea: What Comes Next?

North Korea says that nuclear weapons are essential to regime survival. The United States should figure out how to persuade the North Korean regime that it is less likely to survive by posing a nuclear threat than by cooperating with the international community.

Bruce W. Bennett @bwbennett

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What Were China's Objectives in the Doklam Dispute?

A recent military standoff on the Doklam Plateau was the most serious confrontation between China and India in a generation. It holds lessons for nations interested in Beijing's global strategic calculus.

Jonah Blank

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Artificial Intelligence and the Military

AI has many possible applications for the military, such as providing unpredictable and adaptive adversaries for training fighter pilots. But what are the implications of AI adoption?

Robert W. Button

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If Teenagers Get More Sleep, California Could Gain Billions

Two key effects of better-rested teens are improved academic performance and reduced motor vehicle crashes. Delaying school start times to 8:30 a.m. could result in economic benefits that would be realized within a matter of years — $10 billion in California alone.

Wendy M. Troxel @wendytroxel, Marco Hafner

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Vehicular Terrorism: Weighing the Benefits, and Worth, of Prevention

The terrorist attack in Barcelona has added urgency to discussions of what can be done to prevent terrorists from using vehicles as weapons. Many potential security measures would be disruptive, costly, and could easily be circumvented by a determined terrorist.

Brian Michael Jenkins @BrianMJenkins

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Anticipating Harvey's Toll on Health and Health Care

After Hurricane Harvey, challenges to the health of affected communities and the health care systems that serve them are expected to grow. Among the problems are closures of hospitals, pharmacies, and dialysis centers. Lessons from Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy could help relief efforts.

Mahshid Abir, Richard Serino