Division of Behavioral and Social Scienc - Böcker

This book describes the demographic, sociological, and ecological background of the aging society, identifies human factors problems associated with aging, summarizes currently relevant information, and recommends directions for research. It suggests a program of research and technology development for the purpose of ameliorating the effects of functional changes that accompany the aging process and provides a basis for additional research and application of human factors engineering data to the design of environments in which aging people must function.

Decision making in today's organizations is often distributed widely and usually supported by such technologies as satellite communications, electronic messaging, teleconferencing, and shared data bases. Distributed Decision Making outlines the process and problems involved in dispersed decision making, draws on current academic and case history information, and highlights the need for better theories, improved research methods and more interdisciplinary studies on the individual and organizational issues associated with distributed decision making. An appendix provides additional background reading on this socially and economically important problem area.

One of a continuing series on Frontiers of Visual Science, this short volume contains papers presented at a recent symposium. These papers describe techniques for assessing the structure and function of photoreception, both in isolation and in aggregation as the "receptor mosaic" of the retina. Also described are dynamic and spatial sampling properties of photoreceptors, with an emphasis on techniques of measurement and associated models of retinal function. This volume should be of interest to basic vision scientists, clinical ophthalmologists, workers in human factors, and computer scientists curious about the visual apparatus of biological systems.

One of the most exciting and hopeful trends of the past 15 years has been the worldwide movement away from authoritarian governments. The collapse of the communist regimes in Eastern Europe is only the latest and most dramatic element in a process that began in the mid-1970s and still seems to be gaining momentum in such areas as subsaharan Africa. This book summarizes the presentations and discussions at a workshop for the U.S. Agency for International Development that explored what is known about transitions to democracy in various parts of the world and what the United States can do to support the democratization process.

Do child care centers and family day care homes provide quality care for the children they serve? Do parents know how to identify quality when selecting a center or family home for their children? This easy-to-read, accessible booklet provides an overview of what constitutes quality in out-of-home care. Based on the National Research Council's detailed examination of child development and child care, Who Cares for America's Children,this booklet provides practical guidance for parents, child care providers, and policymakers. It highlights what to look for in a center or family day care home, presents what researchers and experts know about the best settings for children, and suggests what characteristics of quality care are amenable to standards or regulations. Single copy, $6.50; 2-9 copies, $5.50 each; 10 or more copies, $3.75 each (no other discounts apply).

The growing importance of immigration in the United States today prompted this examination of the adequacy of U.S. immigration data. This volume summarizes data needs in four areas: immigration trends, assimilation and impacts, labor force issues, and family and social networks. It includes recommendations on additional sources for the data needed for program and research purposes, and new questions and refinements of questions within existing data sources to improve the understanding of immigration and immigrant trends.

Violence against women is one factor in the growing wave of alarm about violence in American society. High-profile cases such as the O.J. Simpson trial call attention to the thousands of lesser-known but no less tragic situations in which women's lives are shattered by beatings or sexual assault. The search for solutions has highlighted not only what we know about violence against women but also what we do not know. How can we achieve the best understanding of this problem and its complex ramifications? What research efforts will yield the greatest benefit? What are the questions that must be answered? Understanding Violence Against Women presents a comprehensive overview of current knowledge and identifies four areas with the greatest potential return from a research investment by increasing the understanding of and responding to domestic violence and rape: * What interventions are designed to do, whom they are reaching, and how to reach the many victims who do not seek help. * Factors that put people at risk of violence and that precipitate violence, including characteristics of offenders.* The scope of domestic violence and sexual assault in America and its conequences to individuals, families, and society, including costs. * How to structure the study of violence against women to yield more useful knowledge. Despite the news coverage and talk shows, the real fundamental nature of violence against women remains unexplored and often misunderstood. Understanding Violence Against Women provides direction for increasing knowledge that can help ameliorate this national problem.

Older Americans, even the oldest, can now expect to live years longer than those who reached the same ages even a few decades ago. Although survival has improved for all racial and ethnic groups, strong differences persist, both in life expectancy and in the causes of disability and death at older ages. This book examines trends in mortality rates and selected causes of disability (cardiovascular disease, dementia) for older people of different racial and ethnic groups. The determinants of these trends and differences are also investigated, including differences in access to health care and experiences in early life, diet, health behaviors, genetic background, social class, wealth and income. Groups often neglected in analyses of national data, such as the elderly Hispanic and Asian Americans of different origin and immigrant generations, are compared. The volume provides understanding of research bearing on the health status and survival of the fastest-growing segment of the American population.

Reports of mistreated children, domestic violence, and abuse of elderly persons continue to strain the capacity of police, courts, social services agencies, and medical centers. At the same time, myriad treatment and prevention programs are providing services to victims and offenders. Although limited research knowledge exists regarding the effectiveness of these programs, such information is often scattered, inaccessible, and difficult to obtain. Violence in Families takes the first hard look at the successes and failures of family violence interventions. It offers recommendations to guide services, programs, policy, and research on victim support and assistance, treatments and penalties for offenders, and law enforcement. Included is an analysis of more than 100 evaluation studies on the outcomes of different kinds of programs and services. Violence in Families provides the most comprehensive review on the topic to date. It explores the scope and complexity of family violence, including identification of the multiple types of victims and offenders, who require different approaches to intervention.The book outlines new strategies that offer promising approaches for service providers and researchers and for improving the evaluation of prevention and treatment services. Violence in Families discusses issues that underlie all types of family violence, such as the tension between family support and the protection of children, risk factors that contribute to violent behavior in families, and the balance between family privacy and community interventions. The core of the book is a research-based review of interventions used in three institutional sectors--social services, health, and law enforcement settings--and how to measure their effectiveness in combating maltreatment of children, domestic violence, and abuse of the elderly. Among the questions explored by the committee: Does the child protective services system work? Does the threat of arrest deter batterers? The volume discusses the strength of the evidence and highlights emerging links among interventions in different institutional settings. Thorough, readable, and well organized, Violence in Families synthesizes what is known and outlines what needs to be discovered.This volume will be of great interest to policymakers, social services providers, health care professionals, police and court officials, victim advocates, researchers, and concerned individuals.

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.

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 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.

Is it possible for people to register and retain what is said in their presence while they sleep? If it is possible, is the learning that takes place during sleep efficient enough to be of practical as well as theoretical significance? These are the questions of chief concern in this paper. To address these issues, the second section of the paper summarizes research dealing with a number of variables that may have an important influence on sleep learning. In the third section, some tentative conclusions concerning the possibility and practicality of learning during sleep are outlined.

Climate change is one of the most important global environmental problems facing the world today. Policy decisions are already being made to limit or adapt to climate change and its impacts, but there is a need for greater integration between science and decision making. This book proposes six priorities for restructuring the United States' climate change research program to develop a more robust knowledge base and support informed responses: * Reorganize the Program Around Integrated Scientific-Societal Issues * Establish a U.S. Climate Observing System * Support a New Generation of Coupled Earth System Models * Strengthen Research on Adaptation, Mitigation, and Vulnerability * Initiate a National Assessment of the Risks and Costs of Climate Change Impacts and Options to Respond * Coordinate Federal Efforts to Provide Climate Information, Tools, and Forecasts Routinely to Decision Makers

Following a 2011 report by the National Research Council (NRC) on successful K-12 education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), Congress asked the National Science Foundation to identify methods for tracking progress toward the report's recommendations. In response, the NRC convened the Committee on an Evaluation Framework for Successful K-12 STEM Education to take on this assignment. The committee developed 14 indicators linked to the 2011 report's recommendations. By providing a focused set of key indicators related to students' access to quality learning, educator's capacity, and policy and funding initiatives in STEM, the committee addresses the need for research and data that can be used to monitor progress in K-12 STEM education and make informed decisions about improving it.The recommended indicators provide a framework for Congress and relevant deferral agencies to create and implement a national-level monitoring and reporting system that: assesses progress toward key improvements recommended by a previous National Research Council (2011) committee; measures student knowledge, interest, and participation in the STEM disciplines and STEM-related activities; tracks financial, human capital, and material investments in K-12 STEM education at the federal, state, and local levels; provides information about the capabilities of the STEM education workforce, including teachers and principals; and facilitates strategic planning for federal investments in STEM education and workforce development when used with labor force projections. All 14 indicators explained in this report are intended to form the core of this system. Monitoring Progress Toward Successful K-12 STEM Education: A Nation Advancing? summarizes the 14 indicators and tracks progress towards the initial report's recommendations.