%0 Book %A National Research Council %T Massive Data Sets: Proceedings of a Workshop %@ 978-0-309-05694-6 %D 1996 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/5505/massive-data-sets-proceedings-of-a-workshop %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/5505/massive-data-sets-proceedings-of-a-workshop %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Math, Chemistry, and Physics %K Computers and Information Technology %K Surveys and Statistics %P 218 %0 Book %A Transportation Research Board %A National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine %T Shopping for Safety: Providing Customer Automotive Safety Information: Providing Consumer Automotive Safety Information -- Special Report 248 %D 1996 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/9698/shopping-for-safety-providing-customer-automotive-safety-information-providing-consumer %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/9698/shopping-for-safety-providing-customer-automotive-safety-information-providing-consumer %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Transportation and Infrastructure %P 160 %X TRB Special Report 248 - Shopping for Safety: Providing Customer Automotive Safety Information examines consumer needs for automotive safety information and the most cost-effective and meaningful methods of communicating this information.Since passage of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966, which created the agency known today as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), establishment of motor vehicle safety standards has been a primary emphasis of federal policy. Numerous such standards have been introduced, including those mandating collapsible steering columns, nonlacerating windshields, safety belts, and air bags. Although the role played by these measures cannot be determined, the rate of motor vehicle fatalities has declined by 70 percent since 1966. Yet an annual toll in excess of 40,000 highway deaths suggests that more can be done in the area of vehicle safety. Mindful of the growing interest in motor vehicle safety features and the federal role in automotive safety, Congress requested a study of related consumer information needs in 1994. Consumers have increasingly been demanding and paying for more vehicle safety features, such as antilock braking systems and air bags. Consumer magazines, such as Consumer Reports, provide safety information about vehicles, and a prominent television program even features the crash test results of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The strong and growing consumer interest in safety indicates that the government could influence which vehicles and vehicle features consumers seek out to provide for their own safety.Perhaps the most common question consumers ask is which car is safest. Unfortunately, there is no good answer to this question. Many vehicle, driver, and roadside features influence crash outcomes in ways that are difficult to predict. The committee that produced this report concluded that the federal government could facilitate progress toward an overall measure of vehicle safety by investing in research and by working with experts in academia and industry. Because of the complexities involved and the current lack of adequate data on many salient variables, however, achievement of such a goal would take many years. In the nearer term, NHTSA could do much to improve the quality of existing information and convey it to consumers more clearly and efficiently. For example, the agency could give consumers a better understanding of the importance of vehicle dimensions for safety outcomes, the benefits of proper use of vehicle safety features, the frequency of crash types for which tests exist, and the uncertainties associated with crash tests themselves. %0 Book %A Institute of Medicine %T Pathways of Addiction: Opportunities in Drug Abuse Research %@ 978-0-309-05533-8 %D 1996 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/5297/pathways-of-addiction-opportunities-in-drug-abuse-research %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/5297/pathways-of-addiction-opportunities-in-drug-abuse-research %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Health and Medicine %P 328 %X Drug abuse persists as one of the most costly and contentious problems on the nation's agenda. Pathways of Addiction meets the need for a clear and thoughtful national research agenda that will yield the greatest benefit from today's limited resources. The committee makes its recommendations within the public health framework and incorporates diverse fields of inquiry and a range of policy positions. It examines both the demand and supply aspects of drug abuse. Pathways of Addiction offers a fact-filled, highly readable examination of drug abuse issues in the United States, describing findings and outlining research needs in the areas of behavioral and neurobiological foundations of drug abuse. The book covers the epidemiology and etiology of drug abuse and discusses several of its most troubling health and social consequences, including HIV, violence, and harm to children. Pathways of Addiction looks at the efficacy of different prevention interventions and the many advances that have been made in treatment research in the past 20 years. The book also examines drug treatment in the criminal justice setting and the effectiveness of drug treatment under managed care. The committee advocates systematic study of the laws by which the nation attempts to control drug use and identifies the research questions most germane to public policy. Pathways of Addiction provides a strategic outline for wise investment of the nation's research resources in drug abuse. This comprehensive and accessible volume will have widespread relevance—to policymakers, researchers, research administrators, foundation decisionmakers, healthcare professionals, faculty and students, and concerned individuals. %0 Book %A National Research Council %E Stern, Paul C. %E Fineberg, Harvey V. %T Understanding Risk: Informing Decisions in a Democratic Society %@ 978-0-309-08956-2 %D 1996 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/5138/understanding-risk-informing-decisions-in-a-democratic-society %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/5138/understanding-risk-informing-decisions-in-a-democratic-society %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Environment and Environmental Studies %P 264 %X Understanding Risk addresses a central dilemma of risk decisionmaking in a democracy: detailed scientific and technical information is essential for making decisions, but the people who make and live with those decisions are not scientists. The key task of risk characterization is to provide needed and appropriate information to decisionmakers and the public. This important new volume illustrates that making risks understandable to the public involves much more than translating scientific knowledge. The volume also draws conclusions about what society should expect from risk characterization and offers clear guidelines and principles for informing the wide variety of risk decisions that face our increasingly technological society. Frames fundamental questions about what risk characterization means. Reviews traditional definitions and explores new conceptual and practical approaches. Explores how risk characterization should inform decisionmakers and the public. Looks at risk characterization in the context of the entire decisionmaking process. Understanding Risk discusses how risk characterization has fallen short in many recent controversial decisions. Throughout the text, examples and case studies—such as planning for the long-term ecological health of the Everglades or deciding on the operation of a waste incinerator—bring key concepts to life. Understanding Risk will be important to anyone involved in risk issues: federal, state, and local policymakers and regulators; risk managers; scientists; industrialists; researchers; and concerned individuals. %0 Book %A National Research Council %T National Science Education Standards %@ 978-0-309-05326-6 %D 1996 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/4962/national-science-education-standards %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/4962/national-science-education-standards %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Education %P 272 %X Americans agree that our students urgently need better science education. But what should they be expected to know and be able to do? Can the same expectations be applied across our diverse society? These and other fundamental issues are addressed in National Science Education Standards—a landmark development effort that reflects the contributions of thousands of teachers, scientists, science educators, and other experts across the country. The National Science Education Standards offer a coherent vision of what it means to be scientifically literate, describing what all students regardless of background or circumstance should understand and be able to do at different grade levels in various science categories. The standards address: The exemplary practice of science teaching that provides students with experiences that enable them to achieve scientific literacy. Criteria for assessing and analyzing students' attainments in science and the learning opportunities that school science programs afford. The nature and design of the school and district science program. The support and resources needed for students to learn science. These standards reflect the principles that learning science is an inquiry-based process, that science in schools should reflect the intellectual traditions of contemporary science, and that all Americans have a role in improving science education. This document will be invaluable to education policymakers, school system administrators, teacher educators, individual teachers, and concerned parents. %0 Book %T Resources for Teaching Elementary School Science %@ 978-0-309-05293-1 %D 1996 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/4966/resources-for-teaching-elementary-school-science %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/4966/resources-for-teaching-elementary-school-science %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Education %P 312 %X What activities might a teacher use to help children explore the life cycle of butterflies? What does a science teacher need to conduct a "leaf safari" for students? Where can children safely enjoy hands-on experience with life in an estuary? Selecting resources to teach elementary school science can be confusing and difficult, but few decisions have greater impact on the effectiveness of science teaching. Educators will find a wealth of information and expert guidance to meet this need in Resources for Teaching Elementary School Science. A completely revised edition of the best-selling resource guide Science for Children: Resources for Teachers, this new book is an annotated guide to hands-on, inquiry-centered curriculum materials and sources of help in teaching science from kindergarten through sixth grade. (Companion volumes for middle and high school are planned.) The guide annotates about 350 curriculum packages, describing the activities involved and what students learn. Each annotation lists recommended grade levels, accompanying materials and kits or suggested equipment, and ordering information. These 400 entries were reviewed by both educators and scientists to ensure that they are accurate and current and offer students the opportunity to: Ask questions and find their own answers. Experiment productively. Develop patience, persistence, and confidence in their own ability to solve real problems. The entries in the curriculum section are grouped by scientific area—Life Science, Earth Science, Physical Science, and Multidisciplinary and Applied Science—and by type—core materials, supplementary materials, and science activity books. Additionally, a section of references for teachers provides annotated listings of books about science and teaching, directories and guides to science trade books, and magazines that will help teachers enhance their students' science education. Resources for Teaching Elementary School Science also lists by region and state about 600 science centers, museums, and zoos where teachers can take students for interactive science experiences. Annotations highlight almost 300 facilities that make significant efforts to help teachers. Another section describes more than 100 organizations from which teachers can obtain more resources. And a section on publishers and suppliers give names and addresses of sources for materials. The guide will be invaluable to teachers, principals, administrators, teacher trainers, science curriculum specialists, and advocates of hands-on science teaching, and it will be of interest to parent-teacher organizations and parents. %0 Book %T Simulated Voyages: Using Simulation Technology to Train and License Mariners %@ 978-0-309-05383-9 %D 1996 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/5065/simulated-voyages-using-simulation-technology-to-train-and-license-mariners %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/5065/simulated-voyages-using-simulation-technology-to-train-and-license-mariners %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Engineering and Technology %P 304 %X This book assesses the state of practice and use of ship-bridge simulators in the professional development and licensing of deck officers and marine pilots. It focuses on full-mission computer-based simulators and manned models. It analyzes their use in instruction, evaluation and licensing and gives information and practical guidance on the establishment of training and licensing program standards, and on simulator and simulation validation.