Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education – författare

The AIDS virus is spread by human behaviors enacted in a variety of social situations. In order to prevent further infection, we need to know more about these behaviors. This volume explores what is known about the number of people infected, risk-associated behaviors, facilitation of behavioral change, and barriers to more effective prevention efforts.

On June 24-25, 1999, the Committee on Integrating the Science of Early Childhood Development of the Board on Children, Youth, and Families of the National Research Council/National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine convened a workshop for researchers and practitioners to examine the underlying knowledge base that informs current best practices in early childhood services, from the prenatal period to school entry. Early Childhood Intervention discusses the diversity of working assumptions, theories of change, and views about child development and early intervention that currently shape a wide variety of social policies and service delivery systems for young children and their families.

How should the war on drugs be fought? Everyone seems to agree that the United States ought to use a combination of several different approaches to combat the destructive effects of illegal drug use. Yet there is a remarkable paucity of data and research information that policy makers require if they are to create a useful, realistic policy package-details about drug use, drug market economics, and perhaps most importantly the impact of drug enforcement activities. Informing America's Policy on Illegal Drugs recommends ways to close these gaps in our understanding-by obtaining the necessary data on drug prices and consumption (quantity in addition to frequency); upgrading federal management of drug statistics; and improving our evaluation of prevention, interdiction, enforcement, and treatment efforts. The committee reviews what we do and do not know about illegal drugs and how data are assembled and used by federal agencies. The book explores the data and research information needed to support strong drug policy analysis, describes the best methods to use, explains how to avoid misleading conclusions, and outlines strategies for increasing access to data.Informing America's Policy on Illegal Drugs also discusses how researchers can incorporate randomization into studies of drug treatment and how state and local agencies can compare alternative approaches to drug enforcement. Charting a course toward a better-informed illegal drugs policy, this book will be important to federal and state policy makers, regulators, researchers, program administrators, enforcement officials, journalists, and advocates concerned about illegal drug use.

Declining American competitiveness in world economic markets has renewed interest in employment testing as a way of putting the right workers in the right jobs. A new study of the U.S. Department of Labor's General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB) Referral System sheds light on key questions for America's employers: How well does the GATB predict job success? Are there scientific justifications for adjusting minority test scores? Will increased use of the GATB result in substantial increases in productivity? Fairness in Employment Testing evaluates both the validity generalization techniques used to justify the use of the GATB across the spectrum of U.S. jobs and the policy of adjusting test scores to promote equal opportunity.

Recent vision research has led to the emergence of new techniques that offer exciting potential for a more complete assessment of vision in clinical, industrial, and military settings. Emergent Techniques for Assessment of Visual Performance examines four areas of vision testing that offer potential for improved assessment of visual capability including: contrast sensitivity function, dark-focus of accommodation, dynamic visual acuity and dynamic depth tracking, and ambient and focal vision. In contrast to studies of accepted practices, this report focuses on emerging techniques that could help determine whether people have the vision necessary to do their jobs. In addition to examining some of these emerging techniques, the report identifies their usefulness in predicting performance on other visual and visual-motor tasks, and makes recommendations for future research. Emergent Techniques for Assessment of Visual Performance provides summary recommendations for research that will have significant value and policy implications for the next 5 to 10 years.The content and conclusions of this report can serve as a useful resource for those responsible for screening industrial and military visual function.

More than 1 million teenage girls in the United States become pregnant each year; nearly half give birth. Why do these young people, who are hardly more than children themselves, become parents? The statistical appendices and working papers for the report Risking the Future: Adolescent Sexuality, Pregnancy, and Childbearing provide additional insight into the trends in and consequences of teenage sexual behavior.

There are numerous reasons to hasten the introduction of new and improved contraceptives--from health concerns about the pill to the continuing medical liability crisis. Yet, U.S. organizations are far from taking a leadership position in funding, researching, and introducing new contraceptives--in fact, the United States lags behind Europe and even some developing countries in this field. Why is research and development of contraceptives stagnating? What must the nation do to energize this critical arena? This book presents an overall examination of contraceptive development in the United States--covering research, funding, regulation, product liability, and the effect of public opinion. The distinguished authoring committee presents a blueprint for substantial change, with specific policy recommendations that promise to gain the attention of specialists, the media, and the American public.The highly readable and well-organized volume will quickly become basic reading for legislators, government agencies, the pharmaceutical industry, private organizations, legal professionals, and researchers--everyone concerned about family planning, reproductive health, and the impact of the liability and regulatory systems on scientific innovations.

Clearly babies come into the world remarkably receptive to its wonders. Their alertness to sights, sounds, and even abstract concepts makes them inquisitive explorers—and learners—every waking minute. Well before formal schooling begins, children's early experiences lay the foundations for their later social behavior, emotional regulation, and literacy. Yet, for a variety of reasons, far too little attention is given to the quality of these crucial years. Outmoded theories, outdated facts, and undersized budgets all play a part in the uneven quality of early childhood programs throughout our country.What will it take to provide better early education and care for our children between the ages of two and five? Eager to Learn explores this crucial question, synthesizing the newest research findings on how young children learn and the impact of early learning. Key discoveries in how young children learn are reviewed in language accessible to parents as well as educators: findings about the interplay of biology and environment, variations in learning among individuals and children from different social and economic groups, and the importance of health, safety, nutrition and interpersonal warmth to early learning. Perhaps most significant, the book documents how very early in life learning really begins. Valuable conclusions and recommendations are presented in the areas of the teacher-child relationship, the organization and content of curriculum, meeting the needs of those children most at risk of school failure, teacher preparation, assessment of teaching and learning, and more. The book discusses:Evidence for competing theories, models, and approaches in the field and a hard look at some day-to-day practices and activities generally used in preschool.The role of the teacher, the importance of peer interactions, and other relationships in the child's life.Learning needs of minority children, children with disabilities, and other special groups.Approaches to assessing young children's learning for the purposes of policy decisions, diagnosis of educational difficulties, and instructional planning.Preparation and continuing development of teachers.Eager to Learn presents a comprehensive, coherent picture of early childhood learning, along with a clear path toward improving this important stage of life for all children.

Various editions of the Dictionary of Occupational Titles have served as the Employment Service's basic tool for matching workers and jobs. The Dictionary of Occupational Titles has also played an important role in establishing skill and training requirements and developing Employment Service testing batteries for specific occupations. However, the role of the Dictionary of Occupational Titles has been called into question as a result of planned changes in the operation of the Employment Service. A plan to automate the operations of Employment Service offices using a descriptive system of occupational keywords rather than occupational titles has led to a claim that a dictionary of occupational titles and the occupational research program that produces it are outmoded. Since the automated keyword system does not rely explicitly on defined occupational titles, it is claimed that the new system would reduce costs by eliminating the need for a research program to supply the occupational definitions. In light of these considerations, the present volume evaluates the future need for the Dictionary of Occupational Titles.

Behavioral and Social Science Research: A National Resource specifies appropriate criteria for assessing the value, significance, and social utility of basic research in the social sciences. This report identifies illustrative areas of basic research in the social sciences that have developed analytic frameworks of high social utility and describes the development of these frameworks and their utilization. It also identifies illustrative areas of basic research in the social sciences that are likely to be of high value, significance, and/or social utility in the near future, reviews the current state of knowledge in these areas, and indicates research efforts needed to bring these areas to their full potential.

Along with the widespread use of computers have come growing fears that working in front of video display terminals (VDTs) can irritate and even damage the eyes. Separating scientific fact from popular opinion, this report takes a critical look at the link between VDT use and eye discomfort and disease as well as at changes in visual performance and oculomotor function. Drawing on information from ergonomics, illuminating engineering, and industrial and organizational psychology, the report gives practical advice on optimal workstation design to improve the comfort, performance, and job satisfaction of VDT users.

The ways in which vocational education can be strengthened to contribute most effectively to national education and economic goals are the subject of this book. It discusses changes in the economy and in the nature of jobs that affect the skills needed in the workplace; unemployment conditions, particularly among the young; and the educational implications of these changes and conditions. The book takes a critical look at vocational education, evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the system, and makes specific recommendations for its improvement.

Even though women have made substantial progress in a number of formerly male occupations, sex segregation in the workplace remains a fact of life. This volume probes pertinent questions: Why has the overall degree of sex segregation remained stable in this century? What informal barriers keep it in place? How do socialization and educational practices affect career choices and hiring patterns? How do family responsibilities affect women's work attitudes? And how effective is legislation in lessening the gap between the sexes? Amply supplemented with tables, figures, and insightful examination of trends and research, this volume is a definitive source for what is known today about sex segregation on the job.

In this provocative volume, distinguished authorities on urban policy expose the myths surrounding today's "infrastructure crisis" in urban public works. Five in-depth papers examine the evolution of the public works system, the limitations of urban needs studies, the financing of public works projects, the impact of politics, and how technology is affecting the types of infrastructures needed for tomorrow's cities.

Alcohol is a killer--1 of every 13 deaths in the United States is alcohol-related. In addition, 5 percent of the population consumes 50 percent of the alcohol. The authors take a close look at the problem in a "classy little study," as The Washington Post called this book. The Library Journal states, "...[T]his is one book that addresses solutions...And it's enjoyably readable...This is an excellent review for anyone in the alcoholism prevention business, and good background reading for the interested layperson." The Washington Post agrees: the book "...likely will wind up on the bookshelves of counselors, politicians, judges, medical professionals, and law enforcement officials throughout the country."

Comparable worth - equal pay for jobs of equal value - has been called the civil rights issue of the 1980s. This volume consists of a committee report that sets forth an agenda of research on this issue. It deals with a range of topics, including job evaluation, social judgement biases in comparable worth analysis, and prospects for pay equity.