National Academies Press

Assessment of sea-turtle status and trends; integrating demography and abundance.

The Committee on the Review of Sea-Turtle Population Assessment Methods of the National Research Council's Ocean Studies Board was tasked by the National Marine Fisheries Service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to review recent assessments on the status and trends of sea-turtle populations in US waters during their life cycle. This study reviews the utility of existing research programs that provide information for assessing and managing these populations in the context of current recovery plans. It reports on current methods of population assessment and estimation of known mortality and provides recommendations on the research, monitoring, and data needed to improve assessments such as beach samples, in-water surveys, genetic and demographic analyses, bycatch information, aerial surveys, telemetry, and mark-recapture studies, and their effectiveness, cost, and timelines. It recommends improvements to existing methods, addresses limitations, identifies new avenues for modeling, and suggests methods for making data available for incorporation into models and meta-analytical studies. It also covers issues like data management, education and training, the permit process, and opportunities for coordination. No index is included. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Climate change, the indoor environment, and health.

Climate change is not just affecting the outside world around us. It also affects the indoor environment, with consequences for occupant and public health. This report from the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies examines the impact climate change may have on the indoor environment and those health consequences. Written primarily for the Environmental Protection Agency and other federal agencies, it strongly recommends that EPA take the responsibility for informing the public, health professionals, and those in the building industry about potential risks and how to address them. It also recommends change in building codes to account for climate change, evaluation standards for building materials emissions, and more. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

High school dropout, graduation, and completion rates; better data, better measures, better decisions.

To evaluate the accuracy of dropout and completion rate data used as indicators of education system effectiveness and socioeconomic well-being, a joint National Research Council and National Academy of Education project begun in 2008 examined student tracking systems, identified the analyses needed to understand early warning indicators and trends, and considered ways such information could be used to improve practice and public policies at the state and national levels. The report includes examples of states' record-keeping forms and student engagement action plans, recommendations, references, and the workshop agenda and list of participants. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Hunger and obesity; understanding a food insecurity paradigm; workshop summary.

The workshop was convened in response to questions about whether public nutrition assistance programs should be available to a population that included obese as well as hungry people. The presentations and discussions explore the relationship between food insecurity and obesity, the current state of research, and data and analysis needed to advanced understanding of the relationship as a way of countering both trends in the US. The core sociological perspectives look at the individual, the family and household, the environment, and institutions. The report is not indexed. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Intelligence analysis for tomorrow; advances from the behavioral and social sciences.

In response to a request from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the National Research Council established a committee to assess whether behavioral and social science knowledge can improve strategic intelligence analysis at the national level. The consensus report addresses human resource policies for selecting and training employees, internal collaboration methods, and obstacles to effective communication. A companion volume delivers the detailed research papers written by the committee members. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Managing university intellectual property in the public interest.

This report from the Committee on Science, Technology and Law of the National Academies examines the effects of the Bayh-Dole act of 1980 on the transfer of intellectual property rights from university research for the public good. The slim volume explores the historical state of intellectual property rights in public and privately funded research and explores whether the 1980 regulation has had unintended consequences that may hamper the licensing of emerging technologies in the public interest. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

New research directions for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency; workshop report.

This report from the National Research Council's Steering Committee on New Research Directions for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency details a three-day workshop held in May 2010 in Washington D.C. that explored the evolution of five core research areas — photogrammetry and geomatics, remote sensing and imagery science, geodesy and geophysics, cartographic science, and geographic information systems and geospatial analysis — and identified emerging disciplines that may improve the quality and effectiveness of geospatial intelligence over the next 15 years. These emerging themes include beyond fusion, forecasting, human terrain, participatory sensing, and visual analytics, and the report also discusses implementation implications for the research infrastructure. Workshop participants consisted of researchers from different disciplines and observers from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and other parts of the intelligence community. There is no index. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

NOAA's education program; review and critique.

As part of the National Research Council's Committee for the review of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Education Program, Farrington (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and U. of Massachusetts Dartmouth) and Feder, the study's director and member of the Council's Board on Science Education, report on the existing education portfolio of the NOAA and ways to improve it for better public awareness and understanding of issues related to its mission, and review the education strategic plan mandated by the America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science Act. The report examines its role in education, the goals and outcomes, the composition and management of its education portfolio, its evaluation practice, and the impact of its efforts. It describes the plan's strengths and weaknesses, individual projects, and recommendations and suggestions for improving the process. No index is included. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Nutrition and traumatic brain injury; improving acute and subacute health outcomes in military personnel.

U.S. active military service members are experiencing a high percentage of traumatic brain injury (TBI). This Institute of Medicine report examines the potential role of nutrition at the acute stage in improving outcomes. In response to a Department of Defense request, a committee of experts in neurology, nutritional sciences, physiology, physical medicine and rehabilitation, psychiatry, and related clinical and research areas review the evidence on physiological responses to TBI, and nutritional targets and support. The report includes evidence-based recommendations and guidelines on upgrading assessment of nutrition status and needs at different stages, treatment, and research; the workshop agenda; speakers' papers; a map of U.S. Army TBI medical facilities; tables and figures; and a glossary. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Preventing transmission of pandemic influenza and other viral respiratory diseases; personal protective equipment for healthcare workers; update 2010.

Larson (pharmaceutical and therapeutic research, Columbia U.) and Liverman, who directed the 12-month study, offer this report of a study from the Institute of Medicine's Committee on Personal Protective Equipment for Healthcare Personnel to Prevent Transmission of Pandemic Influenza and Other Viral Respiratory Infections: Current Research Issues. The Institute was asked to conduct a study that would update research progress and identify future directions regarding personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare personnel, such as face masks and respirators, since their 2008 report, which focused on avian influenza. The 2008 report is summarized, followed by updates on research and concluding with recommendations for four areas: transmission of influenza and other viral respiratory diseases and the use of PPE in preventing transmission; its design and engineering to be effective and wearable; its use by healthcare personnel; and policy, standards setting, and certification. There is no index. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Private-public sector collaboration to enhance community disaster resilience; a workshop report.

At the request of the Department of Homeland Security, the National Research Council formed a committee to study private-public sector partnerships for strengthening community resilience and to recommend research areas for bolstering the ability of communities to develop such collaborations. This first report from a September 2009 workshop held in Arlington identifies the components of successful collaboration from the points of view of the public and private sectors and from different levels of government. A final report will present the committee's conclusions and recommendations. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Public response to alerts and warnings on mobile devices; summary of a workshop on current knowledge and research gaps.

This volume summarizes a workshop of the National Research Council's Committee on Public Response to Alerts and Warnings on Mobile Devices: Current Knowledge and Research Gaps, which was held in April 2010, in Washington D.C. The workshop gathered together input from social science researchers, technologists, emergency management professionals, and other specialists on how the public responds to alerts and warnings, especially mobile alerts. Chapters describe the Department of Homeland Security's Commercial Mobile Alert Service program and its objectives, background information on the alerting process and public response, the current use of text messages, crisis communication, public education and training, communicating with at-risk populations, and research gaps. The report does not specify findings or recommendations. No index is included. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Reference manual on scientific evidence, 3d ed.

This manual from the National Research Council and a committee of judges, scientists, and engineers assists judges in cases involving complex scientific and technical evidence by detailing the basic principles of specific scientific fields from which legal evidence is often taken and by providing examples of cases. After introductory chapters on the admissibility of expert testimony and how science works, reference guides for DNA identification evidence, statistics, multiple regression, survey research, estimation of economic damages, epidemiology, toxicology, medical testimony, engineering, and other sciences are provided. Each contains an overview of the topic in lay terms and its principles and methods, citations and glossaries, and issues and key questions that are useful to judges and others in the legal profession. This edition has updated and new chapters on neuroscience, exposure science, mental health, and forensic science. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Seeing the future with imaging science; interdisciplinary research team summaries; proceedings.

The conference was part of the Futures Initiative, which Facilitates gathering scientists from different disciplines to focus on new questions that can form the base for entirely new research, and encourages and rewards communication between scientists and between the scientific enterprise and the public. Focusing on imaging technologies, the teams discuss such topics as developing a method to integrate neuroimaging technologies at different length and time scales, developing a telescope or sharshade that would allow planetary systems around neighboring stars to be imaged, and finding novel ways to use imaging methods to improve the treatment of diseases. There is no index. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Sustainability and the U.S. EPA.

The National Research Council convened a Committee on Incorporating Sustainability in the US Environmental Protection Agency, to provide an operational framework for this integration as one of the drivers within the EPA's regulatory responsibility, as well as to address how the existing framework rooted in risk assessment/risk management can be integrated and identify the scientific and analytical tools and expertise needed to support it. Following a brief history of sustainability in the US and internationally, the proposed framework is presented, as are the processes and tools and discussion of how the EPA decision-making process can be integrated, cultural change management at the agency, and the relevance and utility of sustainability considerations in the EPA's accomplishment of its mission, as well as examples of successful sustainability initiatives. There is no index. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Toward an integrated science of research on families; workshop report.

This report from a July 2010 workshop held in Washington, D.C. surveys recent research studies on the social determinants of child health, the diverse structure and dynamic qualities of family environments, the effect of economic stress, and possible biological measures. The final chapter summarizes remarks by representatives from three federal agencies describing each agency's interest in supporting additional family research. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)