2008-11-20T07:00:38Z Copyright (c) 2007-2008, The RAND Corporation Bricolage RAND Corporation urn:uuid:DD692316-4FF8-11DB-9EEF-35351D4D57CE urn:uuid:50948CDA-B5A6-11DD-8DC8-4DC038788F35 2008-11-18T00:00:00Z 2008-11-18T00:00:00Z

Obese women who have weight loss surgery before becoming pregnant have a lower risk of pregnancy-related health problems and their children are less likely to be born with complications.

urn:uuid:C97FC284-A67B-11DD-94C3-FDCC38788F35 2008-11-18T00:00:00Z 2008-11-18T00:00:00Z

State arts agencies — key players within the U.S. system of public support for the arts — face a wide varitey of challenges to their typical roles as grantmakers. The author concludes that future state arts policy is likely to focus more on efforts to develop the creative economy and to grow the audience for the arts.

urn:uuid:9F6C26BE-A143-11DD-9E12-831E39788F35 2008-11-17T00:00:00Z 2008-11-17T00:00:00Z

China is not eroding the foundations of U.S. alliances in East Asia and the United States remains the security partner of choice in the region. But consistent U.S. efforts are needed to ensure that the nation retains its influence.

urn:uuid:2BDB5F22-A5B6-11DD-87D2-FDCC38788F35 2008-11-13T00:00:00Z 2008-11-13T00:00:00Z

As military compensation is a fundamental tool for recruiting and retaining an all-volunteer force, it is reviewed every four years to make sure it can meet the U.S. military's objectives. This research examines the value and effectiveness of the current retirement system and possible alternatives, drawing on military personnel career data.

urn:uuid:F7776C64-9F64-11DD-A779-51C038788F35 2008-11-12T00:00:00Z 2008-11-12T00:00:00Z

Many of the goods and services purchased by the U.S. Department of Defense are from industries that are often better suited to larger companies rather than smaller ones, complicating efforts to meet goals that about one-fourth of prime-contract dollars be awarded to small businesses.

urn:uuid:BF41A7EE-A4E9-11DD-90E7-51C038788F35 2008-11-12T00:00:00Z 2008-11-12T00:00:00Z

This study assesses the state of the art in determining the economic value of social programs for use in benefit-cost analysis (BCA). It finds that rarely are the benefits of social programs consistently or accurately monetized and suggests ways to advance the use of BCA in evaluating social programs' economic returns.

urn:uuid:7CE5FA44-A02F-11DD-8C2F-51C038788F35 2008-11-10T00:00:00Z 2008-11-10T00:00:00Z

This update to a 2007 study on provides an additional year of data on the strategies states, districts, and schools are using to implement standards-based accountability under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and how these strategies are associated with classroom practices and student achievement in mathematics and science.

urn:uuid:714AD0FA-A0F8-11DD-8DEB-51C038788F35 2008-11-05T00:00:00Z 2008-11-05T00:00:00Z

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) relies on the Enrollee Health Care Projection Model (EHCPM) to project the amount and cost of veterans' use of VA health care services. This study evaluates the EHCPM and assesses the risks and benefits posed by the VA's reliance on the model for budgeting and planning.

urn:uuid:A2F38EC2-A9F3-11DD-9DB9-72D338788F35 2008-11-03T00:00:00Z 2008-11-03T00:00:00Z

Adolescents who have high levels of exposure to television programs that contain sexual content are twice as likely to be involved in a pregnancy over the following three years as their peers who watch few such shows.

urn:uuid:F678ADD2-9F64-11DD-A779-51C038788F35 2008-11-03T00:00:00Z 2008-11-03T00:00:00Z

Western Riverside County's Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan -- a sweeping effort to protect endangered and threatened species while accelerating the approval of transportation improvements -- has made significant progress, but needs modifying to reach its goals in Southern California's changing economy.

urn:uuid:062E9D12-991C-11DD-833C-58C038788F35 2008-10-31T00:00:00Z 2008-10-31T00:00:00Z

Education and labor market initiatives are under way in four Arab nations -- Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates -- to address the challenges of developing the human capital of their populations for the 21st century global economy, though better evaluation of the implemented reforms will be needed to determine their efficacy.

urn:uuid:7D6F17AE-96C3-11DD-8ABB-58C038788F35 2008-10-30T00:00:00Z 2008-10-30T00:00:00Z

The United States' 2006 reversal of its 2002 proclamation that deterrence was irrelevant to most future national security strategies is bolstered by research which shows that deterrence will likely play an ongoing role in U.S. efforts to manage a variety of threats, including both near-peer competitors and terrorist organizations.

urn:uuid:6C1A40EE-96F7-11DD-88BD-58C038788F35 2008-10-23T00:00:00Z 2008-10-23T00:00:00Z

Allowing private courier services to deliver items into mailboxes could hamper efforts by the U.S. Postal Service to safeguard the nation's mail. Although the impact of such a change is likely to be moderate, it could diminish public safety and security by diluting the effectiveness of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

urn:uuid:03F56CE4-6A35-11DD-A7CB-58C038788F35 2008-10-22T00:00:00Z 2008-10-22T00:00:00Z

In the wake of 9/11, Congress directed the Department of Homeland Security to evaluate whether the U.S. needs a dedicated domestic intelligence agency, separate from law enforcement, to deter terrorism. DHS asked RAND not to offer specific recommendations, but to make clear what should be considered in the creation of such an agency.

urn:uuid:7A3648A8-8A4F-11DD-8069-58C038788F35 2008-10-20T00:00:00Z 2008-10-20T00:00:00Z

Creating a unique patient identification number for every person in the United States would facilitate a reduction in medical errors, simplify the use of electronic medical records, increase overall efficiency and help protect patient privacy.

urn:uuid:9647951C-88A4-11DD-BF65-58C038788F35 2008-10-15T00:00:00Z 2008-10-15T00:00:00Z

David Aaron, a veteran U.S. diplomat and director of the RAND Center for Middle East Public Policy, has compiled a wide range of writings by Islamic terrorists that offer an unusual window into their mentality. The book, "In Their Own Words: Voices of Jihad," is a virtual encyclopedia of jihadist rhetoric written by the terrorists themselves.

urn:uuid:AA02FC8A-8FEE-11DD-AE1A-99E238788F35 2008-10-10T00:00:00Z 2008-10-10T00:00:00Z

In order to ensure that the U.S. government is able to dispense antibiotics and other life-saving medical countermeasures to large populations under short timelines in the case of a large-scale public health emergency, this report recommends standards for points of dispensing that are designed to apply to widely divergent jurisdictions.

urn:uuid:35EB0D0C-8976-11DD-83EE-58C038788F35 2008-10-10T00:00:00Z 2008-10-10T00:00:00Z

A detailed review of five Los Angeles home-based programs determines how their current practices compare with the literature on best practices in corrections, and assigns scores to each for their ability to deliver quality interventions and services for offenders.

urn:uuid:4B98BA50-8976-11DD-BB75-58C038788F35 2008-10-08T00:00:00Z 2008-10-08T00:00:00Z

Alternative sources of fossil fuels such as oil sands and coal-to-liquids have significant economic promise, but the environmental consequences must also be considered.

urn:uuid:B9C1EA80-831B-11DD-9E71-58C038788F35 2008-10-02T00:00:00Z 2008-10-02T00:00:00Z

In preparing for possible future military interventions, the United States needs to shift substantial resources to the Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development, and military-civilian efforts must be integrated from top to bottom.