RAND mathematician Mary Lee describes the wide variety of personal data collected by smart devices and applications, such as smartwatches, brain implants, and period trackers.
Facial recognition technology is developing rapidly and is increasingly being used in policing. What do policymakers need to understand in order to minimize the risks it poses, while also maximizing its benefits?
This weekly recap focuses on why the United States should extend the New START agreement, the Trump administration's Middle East peace plan, new tobacco products, and more.
This report explores innovation in citizen science as it relates to data collection, analysis, recruitment and capacity building. It also considers emerging themes and topical issues including policymaking developments.
As social media has increasingly become the main outlet for people to acquire news and opinion, there are concerns about the effect of algorithm-driven services on the spread of misleading information. But the issue doesn't merely lie with how social platforms use algorithms to deliver content.
This report evaluates efforts by four public awareness campaigns to overcome negative perceptions and promote awareness of mental health disorders and their treatment, with a focus on military and veteran populations.
This brief describes the results of an interim evaluation that examined the scope, content, and dissemination of mental health public awareness campaigns. RAND researchers conducted a comprehensive evaluation of four such efforts.
This brief is one in a series examining mental health public awareness campaigns' messages, consistency of messaging in their materials, and tools used to deliver content to audiences. This brief discusses materials from the Make the Connection.
This brief is one in a series examining mental health public awareness campaigns' messages, consistency of messaging in their materials, and tools used to deliver content to audiences. This brief discusses materials from the Real Warrior Campaign.
This brief is one in a series examining mental health public awareness campaigns' messages, consistency of messaging in their materials, and tools used to deliver content to audiences. This brief discusses materials from Recovery Month.
This brief is one in a series examining mental health public awareness campaigns' messages, consistency of messaging in their materials, and tools used to deliver content to audiences. This brief discusses materials from the Veterans Crisis Line.
Health data is re-used for a variety of reasons by pharmaceutical companies across the R&D pathway. RAND Europe suggests seven ways which might help create a sustainable ecosystem in which health data is reused effectively.
Recognizing the potential power of close collaboration, two federal programs that provide support to low-income people with HIV came together to determine how they could integrate data to improve outcomes for individuals with HIV who also experience housing instability. This toolkit, the result of that project, is an effort to demystify the data integration process and help others share data and coordinate services across providers.
Crime in traditional online forums often leaves a trail of data that can be followed. But on the dark web, the process of collecting those data and turning them into evidence can be difficult. A panel of law enforcement practitioners and researchers identified ways to address this challenge.
DoD and the U.S. military services have had some success with data-enabled outreach and recruiting. But they could benefit from expanding their adoption of private-sector approaches. For example, recruiters could better target prospects through the use of personally identifiable information and third-party data.
Forensic DNA databases help solve crimes. When an exact DNA match is not found, familial DNA and moderate stringency search may provide investigative leads. Evidence-based practices can guide policymakers on the use and effectiveness of this method.
An analysis of how ethics are created, monitored, and enforced finds which ethical principles are common across scientific disciplines, how these ethics might vary geographically, and how emerging topics are shaping future ethics.
This report offers suggestions for updating DD Form 214, which is used to characterize separating servicemembers' service, military history, and the reasons for separation, for electronic delivery.
The Food Standards Agency engaged RAND Europe to design an approach to strategic surveillance for the UK food system. The study team produced an end-to-end approach, identified implementation steps and considered their impact and feasibility.
Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg has called for new internet regulation starting in four areas: harmful content, election integrity, privacy, and data portability. But why stop there? His proposal could be expanded to include much more: security-by-design, net worthiness, and updated internet business models.
Douglas Yeung, a social psychologist at RAND, discusses how any technology reflects the values, norms, and biases of its creators. Bias in artificial intelligence could have unintended consequences. He also warns that cyber attackers could deliberately introduce bias into AI systems.
As technology and the ability to gather ever-growing amounts of data move further into the realms of biology and human performance, communication and transparency become increasingly important. Experts should consider whether they are using the words, examples, and models that connect with a broad audience most effectively.