Bøger udgivet af RAND

The majority of opioid overdoses are due to illicitly manufactured imports. Researchers from the Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center evaluated publicly available data to better understand the dimensions of the consumption and supply of these substances. They performed qualitative and quantitative analyses of these data and provide their findings and recommendations in this report.

Deaths involving synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl, increased from roughly 3,000 in 2013 to more than 30,000 in 2018. This analysis provides decisionmakers, researchers, media outlets, and the public with insights intended to improve their understanding of the synthetic opioid problem and how to respond to it. Limiting policy responses to existing approaches will likely be insufficient and may condemn many people to early deaths.

The Michigan Indigent Defense Commission (MIDC) asked the RAND Corporation for assistance in determining maximum caseload standards for providers of indigent legal representation to adult defendants in Michigan. The authors present data and analysis.

Changes in employment stability, family structure, and economic pressures have created challenges for the U.S. military reserve component (RC). It is necessary to modify assumptions about Reserve duty to improve RC member recruitment, performance, development, and retention. The authors provide recommendations and analysis that will be applicable in developing and administering programs to facilitate access to civilian human capital.

U.S. allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific have been broadening and deepening their defense ties with regional partners over the past two decades. This report highlights the extent to which these initiatives are a response to the perceived threat of a rising, assertive China; points out the importance of understanding the motivations involved in expanding regional security partnerships; and highlights key areas for building partner capacity.

This report provides an analytical framework for understanding allies' willingness to contribute to a military response to Russian attacks on a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member. We identify 13 factors that could influence allies' decisionmaking, consider how decisionmaking may vary in the event of an unconventional attack, and propose steps to mitigate Russian influence attempts and increase NATO unity in the event of an attack.

The practitioners of hostile social manipulation employ social media, sophisticated forgeries, cyberbullying and harassment, distribution of rumors and conspiracy theories, and other tools to cause damage to their target state. This report represents an effort to better define and understand the challenge by focusing on the activities of the two leading authors of such techniques-Russia and China.

Managing the flow of Air Force rated officers has become more challenging. In this report, the authors document their efforts to develop a long-term career field planning model for all rated officers across the Total Force.

The readiness and sustainability of weapon systems is a key responsibility of the Department of Defense. The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) has responsibility for managing repair parts, and the Weapon System Support Program (WSSP) helps DLA and its customers prioritize parts, but performance is lacking. RAND examines WSSP effectiveness, offers an alternative method for targeting readiness drivers, and gives recommendations for the future.

This report updates and extends estimates of the number of users, retail expenditures, and amount consumed from 2006 to 2016 for cocaine (including crack), heroin, marijuana, and methamphetamine in the United States. The authors find that people spent about $150 billion on these drugs in 2016. The authors' best estimates for 2016 suggest that the marijuana market was roughly the size of the cocaine and methamphetamine markets combined.

This report presents a historical review of defense strategic planning, with a focus on the factors that have shaped defense planning scenarios and strategic analysis in the Department of Defense in an aim to improve scenario use in defense planning.

The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) faces a challenge in determining the optimal length of days away from home port for personnel on major cutters. The authors analyze how USCG servicemembers serving on major cutters respond to various levels of personnel tempo, as well as the effects of working conditions on these responses.

The mission of rescuing injured personnel in Africa is uniquely challenging for a variety of reasons, including the limited scale yet widely distributed nature of U.S. Africa Command's (AFRICOM's) operations and the uncertain security conditions in much of the continent. This report identifies the most cost-effective options for improving rescue capabilities in AFRICOM's area of responsibility.

In this report, the authors examine how the United States might respond to Russian and Chinese efforts to seek strategic advantage through coercive actions in the gray zone. They use insights from their extensive field research and general research on the gray zone phenomenon to sketch out the elements of a strategic response to the gray zone challenge and develop a menu of response options for U.S. officials to consider.

RAND researchers conducted an independent evaluation of the Pathways from Prison to Postsecondary Education Project. This report focuses on the North Carolina Pathways Program, for which researchers examined the implementation of the in-prison and community components, the experiences of Pathways students and staff, factors that facilitated or hindered their participation in the program, and lessons learned.

With the end of its territorial caliphate, the Islamic State will almost certainly attempt a comeback. This report examines how it might finance such an effort.

"In the conference report accompanying the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, Congress expressed concern that the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) "does not sufficiently incorporate data into its acquisition-related learning and decision-making" and asked six questions about "the use of data analysis, measurement, and other evaluation-related methods in DoD acquisition programs." In this report, the authors decompose and measure acquisition functions, data governance, and training to assess how data and associated analytics support DoD acquisition decision making. The authors found that the DoD is applying a breadth of data analytics to acquisition. Capabilities range from simple data archives and plotting to archives integrated with commercial analytic tools. The DoD has implemented an array of data governance and management practices, but major challenges remain, including a culture against data sharing and concerns about security and oversight burden. Some commercial breakthroughs in advanced analytics sound promising for DoD acquisition, but some might not be applicable; research is ongoing. Advancement should include developing a data analytics strategy across acquisition domains, expanding data governance and data sharing, and continuing to expand and mature data collection, access, and analytic layers. Also, mechanisms are needed to authorize and ensure protected access to data for both the DoD and external analysts. Improved incentives and understanding of data analytics could encourage decision makers to make better use of capabilities" -- Publisher's description.

This exploratory project examines various continuous evaluation approaches to detecting insider threats that are available to the U.S. government and assesses the relevance of these approaches to the challenges posed by such insider threats. There are potential benefits in effectiveness and cost over the current method of granting security clearances to personnel based on periodic reinvestigation and readjudication.

What have the peacekeeping missions undertaken by African institutions in Burundi, the Central African Republic, Darfur, the Comoros, Somalia, and the Lake Chad Basin achieved? The authors assess how these missions responded to challenges in the areas of security, humanitarian relief, governance and civil administration, democratization, and economic reconstruction.

China has been wielding increased influence and soft power in both the Freely Associated States of the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, and Palau, as well as the broader region of Oceania. The authors of this report examine the implications of these activities for the United States, particularly in terms of its defense and foreign policy interests.

Truth Decay-the diminishing role that facts, data, and analysis play in political and civil discourse-appears to result, in part, from an increasingly complex information ecosystem. This report's authors explore the ways in which media literacy education may be used to counter Truth Decay by changing how participants consume, create, and share information.

In community citizen science, nonprofessional scientists (volunteers) exert a high degree of control over research, working with professional scientists during the research process and performing research on their own. In this report, the authors describe the nature and potential uses of community citizen science. They address implementation needs and challenges, including pathways to achieve policy and community impacts.

Who might face civil liability if autonomous vehicles (AVs) are hacked to steal data or inflict mayhem, injuries, and damage? How will the civil justice and insurance systems adjust to handle such claims? RAND researchers addressed these questions to help those in the automotive, technology, legal, and insurance industries prepare for the shifting roles and responsibilities that the era of AVs may bring.

The primary focus of this report is understanding how to evaluate the equitable use of algorithms across a range of specific applications. The report outlines concepts of equity from philosophical, legal, and technical standpoints to draw insights that apply across algorithmic decisionmaking contexts for several domains, including auto insurance, recruiting, and criminal justice.

To assist the U.S. Marine Corps in evaluating its sexual assault prevention programs, the authors of this report identify and develop measures of performance and measures of effectiveness with which to assess the programs. The research team created a logic model framework to guide evaluations and mapped program goals to measures that assess the degree to which each outcome has been achieved.

At the request of U.S. Marine Corps Forces Europe and Africa, RAND researchers facilitated three wargaming events exploring how to leverage and enhance the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)'s existing amphibious capacity by organizing extant national forces into a coherent multibrigade command and control (C2) structure. The authors note results of these events and implications for future force development.

RAND researchers assessed gaps in business acumen and knowledge of industry present within the U.S. defense acquisition workforce. They identified apparent knowledge gaps, possible reasons for their existence, and potential approaches to closing them. The report also addresses the role of industry and external educators in helping to close the gaps and includes recommendations to improve how these knowledge gaps are assessed and mitigated.