%0 Book %A National Research Council %A Institute of Medicine %T Mining Safety and Health Research at NIOSH: Reviews of Research Programs of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health %@ 978-0-309-10342-8 %D 2007 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/11850/mining-safety-and-health-research-at-niosh-reviews-of-research %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/11850/mining-safety-and-health-research-at-niosh-reviews-of-research %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Industry and Labor %K Earth Sciences %P 290 %X The U.S. mining sector has the highest fatality rate of any industry in the country. Fortunately, advances made over the past three decades in mining technology, equipment, processes, procedures, and workforce education and training have significantly improved safety and health. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Mining Safety and Health Research Program (Mining Program) has played a large role in these improvements. An assessment of the relevance and impact of NIOSH Mining Program research by a National Research Council committee reveals that the program makes essential contributions to the enhancement of health and safety in the mining industry. To further increase its effectiveness, the Mining Program should proactively identify workplace hazards and establish more challenging and innovative goals toward hazard reduction. The ability of the program to successfully expand its activities, however, depends on available funding. %0 Book %A National Research Council %E Osterweil, Leon J. %E Millett, Lynette I. %E Winston, Joan D. %T Social Security Administration Electronic Service Provision: A Strategic Assessment %@ 978-0-309-10393-0 %D 2007 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/11920/social-security-administration-electronic-service-provision-a-strategic-assessment %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/11920/social-security-administration-electronic-service-provision-a-strategic-assessment %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Computers and Information Technology %K Industry and Labor %P 174 %X Social Security Administration Electronic Service Provision examines the Social Security Administration's (SSA's) proposed e-government strategy and provides advice on how the SSA can best deliver services to its constituencies in the future. The assessment by the Committee on the Social Security Administration's E-Government Strategy and Planning for the Future was based on (1) its examination of the SSA's current e-government strategy, including technological assumptions, performance measures and targets, planned operational capabilities, strategic requirements, and future goals; (2) its consideration of strategies, assumptions, and technical and operational requirements in comparable public- and private-sector institutions; and (3) its consideration of the larger organizational, societal, and technological context in which the SSA operates. %0 Book %A National Academy of Sciences %A National Academy of Engineering %A Institute of Medicine %T Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future %@ 978-0-309-18758-9 %D 2007 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/11463/rising-above-the-gathering-storm-energizing-and-employing-america-for %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/11463/rising-above-the-gathering-storm-energizing-and-employing-america-for %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Industry and Labor %K Education %K Engineering and Technology %K Policy for Science and Technology %P 590 %X In a world where advanced knowledge is widespread and low-cost labor is readily available, U.S. advantages in the marketplace and in science and technology have begun to erode. A comprehensive and coordinated federal effort is urgently needed to bolster U.S. competitiveness and pre-eminence in these areas. This congressionally requested report by a pre-eminent committee makes four recommendations along with 20 implementation actions that federal policy-makers should take to create high-quality jobs and focus new science and technology efforts on meeting the nation's needs, especially in the area of clean, affordable energy: 1) Increase America's talent pool by vastly improving K-12 mathematics and science education; 2) Sustain and strengthen the nation's commitment to long-term basic research; 3) Develop, recruit, and retain top students, scientists, and engineers from both the U.S. and abroad; and 4) Ensure that the United States is the premier place in the world for innovation. Some actions will involve changing existing laws, while others will require financial support that would come from reallocating existing budgets or increasing them. Rising Above the Gathering Storm will be of great interest to federal and state government agencies, educators and schools, public decision makers, research sponsors, regulatory analysts, and scholars. %0 Book %A National Academy of Sciences %A National Academy of Engineering %A Institute of Medicine %E Augustine, Norman R. %T Is America Falling Off the Flat Earth? %@ 978-0-309-18538-7 %D 2007 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12021/is-america-falling-off-the-flat-earth %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12021/is-america-falling-off-the-flat-earth %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Industry and Labor %K Computers and Information Technology %K Education %K Engineering and Technology %K Policy for Science and Technology %P 92 %X The aviation and telecommunication revolutions have conspired to make distance increasingly irrelevant. An important consequence of this is that US citizens, accustomed to competing with their neighbors for jobs, now must compete with candidates from all around the world. These candidates are numerous, highly motivated, increasingly well educated, and willing to work for a fraction of the compensation traditionally expected by US workers. If the United States is to offset the latter disadvantage and provide its citizens with the opportunity for high-quality jobs, it will require the nation to excel at innovation--that is, to be first to market new products and services based on new knowledge and the ability to apply that knowledge. This capacity to discover, create and market will continue to be heavily dependent on the nation's prowess in science and technology. Indicators of trends in these fields are, at best, highly disconcerting. While many factors warrant urgent attention, the two most critical are these: (1) America must repair its failing K-12 educational system, particularly in mathematics and science, in part by providing more teachers qualified to teach those subjects, and (2) the federal government must markedly increase its investment in basic research, that is, in the creation of new knowledge. Only by providing leading-edge human capital and knowledge capital can America continue to maintain a high standard of living--including providing national security--for its citizens.