RAND Review

The cover story on controlling government costs offers guidelines for dealing with contractors and for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of government. Another feature argues that the country's new investment in health information technology is a down payment toward fulfilling the technology's promise for cost, quality, and privacy. A centerpiece accompanies the story. A third feature marks the hurdles that lie ahead in negotiating with Iran and suggests how to surmount them. All three feature topics have been RAND research priorities for years and have now become national priorities for the United States. Other articles discuss the science of climate change, the relevance of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the effects of charter schools, the costs of methamphetamine use, the enlistment of Hispanics in the U.S. military, and the implications of the Mumbai terrorist attacks. A final essay pays tribute to Jeremy Azrael, a man who once straddled two worlds.