RAND experts have often been among the pioneers of key scientific research, including computer analysis, satellite development, military technology, and the foundations of the Internet. RAND's research has also resulted in the development of new methodologies and ways of analyzing policy issues, from the Delphi method to Robust Decision Making.
REPORT
A presentation of papers fundamental to the study of aerial reconnaissance. Because the concepts presented in these papers are considered still valid, they are a basis for current research and development in the field.
REPORT
This documented briefing presents the results of a rapid review of the funding landscape for complex trauma research in the UK. Recommendations are made about how to strengthen this niche and orphan area of research.
REPORT
This companion to Toward Affordable Systems: Portfolio Analysis and Management for Army Science and Technology Programs (Brian G. Chow, Richard Silberglitt, and Scott Hiromoto, Santa Monica, Calif.: RAND Corporation, MG-761-A, 2009) describes the continued development and demonstration of a method and model to incorporate lifecycle cost into the portfolio analysis and management process for U.S. Army Science and Technology programs.
REPORT
Geoengineering is risky, but could transform the portfolio of options for limiting future climate change. Some geoengineering approaches could prove fast acting and inexpensive and could be deployed by one or a few nations without global cooperation. This report provides an initial examination and comparison of the risks associated with alternative international approaches the United States might pursue to governing geoengineering research…
REPORT
Passwords are proving less and less capable of protecting computer systems from abuse. Multifactor authentication (MFA) — which combines something you know (e.g., a PIN), something you have (e.g., a token), and/or something you are (e.g., a fingerprint) — is increasingly being required. This report investigates why organizations choose to adopt or not adopt MFA — and where they choose to use it.
REPORT
U.S. power plants seek to diversify their fuel sources and biomass energy is a renewable resource that generally has lower life-cycle greenhouse-gas emissions than fossil fuels. This model estimates the cost and availability of biomass energy resources from U.S. agricultural lands from the perspective of an individual power plant.
REPORT
Cloud computing is a model for enabling on-demand network access to a shared pool of computing resources—such as storage and applications—that can be rapidly provisioned with minimal management effort or service provider interaction. RAND Europe explored the security, privacy, and trust challenges that cloud computing poses.
COMMENTARY
If it were really possible to explain millions of years of Earth data with a theory that doesn't also imply a recent human influence on the climate, some ambitious, self-interested team of scientists somewhere in the world would seek scientific renown by doing so, writes Robert Lempert.
RESEARCH BRIEF
Assesses alternate mechanisms for implementing fees to fund the nation's road network based on vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and outlines a plan for large-scale system trials to further evaluate the most promising concepts.
NEWS RELEASE
Paul Baran, who helped develop the building blocks of the Internet during the 1960s while working as a researcher at the RAND Corporation, died March 26 at his home in Palo Alto, Calif., from complications relating to lung cancer. He was 84.
REPORT
China's aerospace industry has advanced at an impressive rate over the past decade, partly due to the increasing participation of its aerospace industry in the global commercial aerospace market and the supply chains of the world's leading aerospace firms.
REPORT
Some recent shipbuilding programs in the United States and Europe have involved multiple shipyards constructing major modules of each ship for final integration and testing at one shipyard. The Navy needs to decide what it wants from a shared-build strategy, then monitor and manage the program to ensure that it delivers the required outcome, as well as the vessels called for in the program.
NEWS RELEASE
RAND has signed an agreement to help the Guangzhou Economic and Technological Development District in Guangdong Province, People's Republic of China, to develop a strategic plan for a system of policies, incentives, and other practices to support technological innovation in Knowledge City, a planned new development for 300,000 residents.
REPORT
A discontinuity in U.S. defense planning may be looming because of diffusion of inexpensive military technology, geostrategic changes, and the need to prepare forces for diverse adversary types. The way ahead is not yet clear, and economic constraints are a problem. It also seems that the nation needs a comprehensive rebalancing of national security strategy, not just of military capabilities.
REPORT
The Secretary of Defense's plans to shift Navy aircraft carrier acquisition to every five years should have little impact on force structure and the industrial base in the next decade—but after that, the force structure shrinks, as does the chance of meeting goals for the number of deployed aircraft carriers.
REPORT
The Army's medium and heavy tactical wheeled vehicle (TWV) fleets are critical to its global operations: these are the vehicles that move supplies and equipment to and around the battlespace. The Army needs to know how many of these vehicles it has as well as their age and condition. This study produced status profiles of the medium and heavy TWV fleets to show the numbers of vehicles and the years of useful life remaining for each group.
REPORT
This evaluation of the pilot Health Technology Cooperatives (HTCs), part of England's research infrastructure, explored how the HTCs fit into the health innovation landscape and recommended how best to support core HTC activities in the future.
REPORT
Written testimony submitted to the U.S. China Economic and Security Review Commission on March 10, 2011.
NEWS RELEASE
Project Retrosight analysed 29 case studies of cardiovascular and stroke research in Australia, Canada, and the UK, and found that clinical research has greater societal impact over a 15-20 year timescale, while basic research has greater academic impact.
REPORT
Project Retrosight analyzed 29 case studies of cardiovascular and stroke research in Australia, Canada, and the UK, and found that clinical research has greater societal impact over a 15–20 year timescale, while basic research has greater academic impact.
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