Resources for Veterans, Active-Duty Military, and Their Families

The all-volunteer U. S. military has experienced multiple redeployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, increased use of the reserve components of the military and National Guard, increased numbers of deployed women and parents of young children, and an increase in the number of military personnel surviving severe injuries that in previous wars would have resulted in death. The National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine have produced a number of reports that discuss issues of importance to both active duty and retired military, and their families. All are free to download.

	Cognitive Rehabilitation Therapy for Traumatic Brain Injury: Evaluating the EvidenceTraumatic brain injury (TBI) may affect 10 million people worldwide. It is considered the “signature wound” of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. These injuries result from a bump or blow to the head, or from external forces that cause the brain to move…
	Long-Term Health Consequences of Exposure to Burn Pits in Iraq and AfghanistanMany veterans returning from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have health problems they believe are related to their exposure to the smoke from the burning of waste in open-air “burn pits” on military bases. Particular controversy surrounds the burn pit…
	Veterans and Agent Orange: Update 2010Because of continuing uncertainty about the long-term health effects of the sprayed herbicides on Vietnam veterans, Congress passed the Agent Orange Act of 1991. The legislation directed the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to request the IOM to perform a…
	Nutrition and Traumatic Brain Injury: Improving Acute and Subacute Health Outcomes in Military PersonnelTraumatic brain injury (TBI) accounts for up to one-third of combat-related injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to some estimates. TBI is also a major problem among civilians, especially those who engage in certain sports. At the request of the…
	Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans and Agent Orange ExposureOver 3 million U.S. military personnel were sent to Southeast Asia to fight in the Vietnam War. Since the end of the Vietnam War, veterans have reported numerous health effects. Herbicides used in Vietnam, in particular Agent Orange have been associated with…
	Returning Home from Iraq and Afghanistan: Preliminary Assessment of Readjustment Needs of Veterans, Service Members, and Their FamiliesNearly 1.9 million U.S. troops have been deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq since October 2001. Many service members and veterans face serious challenges in readjusting to normal life after returning home. This initial book presents findings on the most…
	Provision of Mental Health Counseling Services Under TRICAREIn this book, the IOM makes recommendations for permitting independent practice for mental health counselors treating patients within TRICARE–the DOD’s health care benefits program. This would change current policy, which requires all counselors to practice…
	Contaminated Water Supplies at Camp Lejeune: Assessing Potential Health EffectsIn the early 1980s, two water-supply systems on the Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina were found to be contaminated with the industrial solvents trichloroethylene (TCE) and perchloroethylene (PCE). The water systems were supplied by the Tarawa…
	Gulf War and Health: Volume 8: Update of Health Effects of Serving in the Gulf WarFor the United States, the 1991 Persian Gulf War was a brief and successful military operation with few injuries and deaths. However, soon after returning from duty, a large number of veterans began reporting health problems they believed were associated with…
	Student Mobility: Exploring the Impact of Frequent Moves on Achievement: Summary of a WorkshopMany low-income families struggle with stable housing and frequently have to move due to foreclosures, rent increases, or other financial setbacks. Children in these families can experience lasting negative effects, especially those who are young and still…
	Systems Engineering to Improve Traumatic Brain Injury Care in the Military Health System: Workshop SummaryThis book makes a strong case for taking advantage of the best of two disciplines–health care and operational systems engineering (a combination of science and mathematics to describe, analyze, plan, design, and integrate systems with complex interactions…
	Depression in Parents, Parenting, and Children: Opportunities to Improve Identification, Treatment, and PreventionDepression is a widespread condition affecting approximately 7.5 million parents in the U.S. each year and may be putting at least 15 million children at risk for adverse health outcomes. Based on evidentiary studies, major depression in either parent can…
	Gulf War and Health: Volume 7: Long-Term Consequences of Traumatic Brain InjuryThe seventh in a series of congressionally mandated reports on Gulf War veterans health, this volume evaluates traumatic brain injury (TBI) and its association with long-term health affects. That many returning veterans have TBI will likely mean…
	The Future of Disability in AmericaThe future of disability in America will depend on how well the U.S. prepares for and manages the demographic, fiscal, and technological developments that will unfold during the next two to three decades. Building upon two prior studies from the Institute…
	PTSD Compensation and Military ServiceThe scars of war take many forms: the limb lost, the illness brought on by a battlefield exposure, and, for some, the psychological toll of encountering an extremely traumatic event. PTSD Compensation and Military Service presents a thorough assessment of…
	Improving the Quality of Health Care for Mental and Substance-Use Conditions: Quality Chasm SeriesEach year, more than 33 million Americans receive health care for mental or substance-use conditions, or both. Together, mental and substance-use illnesses are the leading cause of death and disability for women, the highest for men ages 15-44, and the second…

Diversity in Higher Education: Strengthening the Science, Technology, and Engineering Workforce

For the United States to maintain global leadership and competitiveness in science and technology we must grow a strong, talented, and innovative science and technology workforce. To achieve this goal, the National Research Council, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine have published reports that focus on ensuring that we draw on the minds and talents of all Americans, including women and racial/ethnic minorities who are underrepresented in science and engineering. These reports explore diversity in higher education and make recommendations to increase the number of women and underrepresented minority scientists and engineers. All of these titles are free to download for personal use.

	Expanding Underrepresented Minority Participation: America’s Science and Technology Talent at the Crossroads In order for the United States to maintain the global leadership and competitiveness in science and technology that are critical to achieving national goals, we must invest in research, encourage innovation, and grow a strong and talented science and…
	Gender Differences at Critical Transitions in the Careers of Science, Engineering, and Mathematics Faculty Gender Differences at Critical Transitions in the Careers of Science, Engineering, and Mathematics Faculty presents new and surprising findings about career differences between female and male full-time, tenure-track, and tenured faculty in science,…
	Understanding Interventions That Encourage Minorities to Pursue Research Careers: Summary of a Workshop
	Biological, Social, and Organizational Components of Success for Women in Academic Science and Engineering: Workshop Report During the last 40 years, the number of women studying science and engineering (S&E) has increased dramatically. Nevertheless, women do not hold academic faculty positions in numbers that commensurate with their increasing share of the S&E talent pool. The…
	Beyond Bias and Barriers: Fulfilling the Potential of Women in Academic Science and Engineering The United States economy relies on the productivity, entrepreneurship, and creativity of its people. To maintain its scientific and engineering leadership amid increasing economic and educational globalization, the United States must aggressively pursue the…
	Opportunities to Address Clinical Research Workforce Diversity Needs for 2010 Based on a 2003 workshop, this study describes current public and private programs and recommends ways to recruit and retain more women and underrepresented minorities into clinical research, especially physician-scientists and nurses. Federal sponsors should…
	To Recruit and Advance: Women Students and Faculty in Science and Engineering Although more women than men participate in higher education in the United States, the same is not true when it comes to pursuing careers in science and engineering. To Recruit and Advance: Women Students and Faculty in Science and Engineering identifies and…

The Anthrax Threat Ten Years after the Letter Attacks

Ten years ago, five Americans were killed and 17 were sickened in the worst biological attack in U.S. history when letters containing the bacterium Bacillus anthracis (B. anthracis, or more simply, anthrax) were sent through the mail. From October 4 to November 20, 2001, an additional 31 people tested positive for exposure to B. anthracis spores and approximately 32,000 individuals initiated a preventive antibiotic regime.

The National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine recently examined the threat of anthrax. Review of the Scientific Approaches Used During the FBI’s Investigation of the 2001 Anthrax Letters focuses on the investigation of the 2001 attacks. This book evaluates the scientific foundation for the specific techniques used by the FBI to determine whether these techniques met appropriate standards for scientific reliability and for use in forensic validation, and whether the FBI reached appropriate scientific conclusions from its use of these techniques.

Prepositioning Antibiotics for Anthrax addresses proactive efforts to provide treatment in the event of an aerosol B. anthracis or other bacterial agent event. Rapid access to antibiotics is critical for preventing and treating illness and death due to this kind of bioterrorism attack. Yet the logistics of effectively delivering antibiotics to prevent anthrax infection pose a tremendous challenge because such an attack could potentially expose a large number of people who would require antibiotics within a relatively brief time window. For example, if aerosolized anthrax were released over a large, densely populated area, hundreds of thousands of people could need antibiotics to prevent deadly inhalational anthrax. This book evaluates new dispensing strategies to provide antibiotics to all exposed and potentially exposed individuals.

Both of these books are available to read or download online at no charge.

Review of the Scientific Approaches Used During the FBI’s Investigation of the 2001 Anthrax Letters

Less than a month after the September 11, 2001 attacks, letters containing spores of anthrax bacteria (Bacillus anthracis, or B. anthracis) were sent through the U.S. mail. Between October 4 and November 20, 2001, 22 individuals developed anthrax; 5 of the…

Prepositioning Antibiotics for Anthrax

If terrorists released Bacillus anthracis over a large city, hundreds of thousands of people could be at risk of the deadly disease anthrax – caused by the B anthracis spores – unless they had rapid access to antibiotic medical countermeasures (MCM). Although…

NRC and IOM Led Efforts to Reduce Smoking in the United States

The National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine have a history of leading efforts to reduce smoking in the United States for the benefit of public health. Twenty-five years ago this month, the National Research Council released a highly influential report that led to the smoking ban on airliners. Dr. Donald Stedman shared with us his recollections from the time when he served as a member of the NRC authoring committee for The Airliner Cabin Environment: Air Quality and Safety.

“I believe that my participation in that committee will stand as my major contribution to human welfare regardless of my research and other activities. Twenty-five years ago the tobacco industry owned the media. If an editor put in anything bad about tobacco his paper lost their cigarette ad revenue. Congress did indeed pass the ban [on smoking on flights] but only for short flights and only for two years. Then their mail was apparently 100-1 in favor of a nationwide ban, which they did, and now it is worldwide.”

Since publication of this National Research Council report, the Institute of Medicine has continued to lead the way in the fight to lower the U.S. smoking rate. Ending the Tobacco Problem: A Blueprint for the Nation reviewed effective prevention and treatment interventions and new tobacco control policies for adoption by federal and state governments. Some of this book’s recommendations were considered controversial at the time, such as smoking bans for all nonresidential indoor settings nationwide and a requirement for all public and private health insurance plans to make coverage of smoking cessation programs a lifetime benefit.

More recently, Secondhand Smoke Exposure and Cardiovascular Effects: Making Sense of the Evidence focused on the relationship between secondhand smoke and heart problems. This book reported that smoking bans are an effective way to reduce the risk of heart attacks and heart disease associated with exposure to secondhand smoke. The book also confirmed that there is sufficient evidence that breathing secondhand smoke boosts nonsmokers’ risk for heart problems.

These and other books about the public health effects of smoking are available to read or download.

	Ending the Tobacco Problem: A Blueprint for the Nation The nation has made tremendous progress in reducing tobacco use during the past 40 years. Despite extensive knowledge about successful interventions, however, approximately one-quarter of American adults still smoke. Tobacco-related illnesses and death place a huge burden on our society…
	Secondhand Smoke Exposure and Cardiovascular Effects: Making Sense of the Evidence Data suggest that exposure to secondhand smoke can result in heart disease in nonsmoking adults. Recently, progress has been made in reducing involuntary exposure to secondhand smoke through legislation banning smoking in workplaces, restaurants, and other public places. The effect …
	Clearing the Smoke: Assessing the Science Base for Tobacco Harm Reduction Despite overwhelming evidence of tobacco’s harmful effects and pressure from anti-smoking advocates, current surveys show that about one-quarter of all adults in the United States are smokers. This audience is the target for a wave of tobacco products and …
	Growing Up Tobacco Free: Preventing Nicotine Addiction in Children and Youths Tobacco use kills more people than any other addiction and we know that addiction starts in childhood and youth. We all agree that youths should not smoke, but how can this be accomplished? What prevention messages will they find compelling? …
	Combating Tobacco Use in Military and Veteran Populations The health and economic costs of tobacco use in military and veteran populations are high. In 2007, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DoD) requested that the Institute of Medicine (IOM) make recommendations on how …
	The Airliner Cabin Environment and the Health of Passengers and Crew Although poor air quality is probably not the hazard that is foremost in peoples minds as they board planes, it has been a concern for years. Passengers have complained about dry eyes, sore throat, dizziness, headaches, and other …
	The Airliner Cabin Environment: Air Quality and Safety Each year Americans take more than 300 million plane trips staffed by a total of some 70,000 flight attendants. The health and safety of these individuals are the focus of this volume from the Committee on Airliner Cabin Air Quality. …

Focusing on Human Factors Can Improve Home Health Care

“There are only four kinds of people in the world: those who have been caregivers; those who are currently caregivers; those who will be caregivers; and those who will need caregivers.” –Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter

People with temporary or chronic conditions monitor themselves or others with daily use of medical devices such as blood pressure cuffs, blood sugar test strips, or heart monitors. Others use medical devices such as nebulizers or physical therapy aids to maintain or improve their own or someone else’s health. These procedures and many others may or may not be done with a health care professional on-site. A wide range of procedures and therapies are now performed far from any medical facility. Although each situation is unique, all are dependent on the people involved—the human factors.

The study of human factors focuses on the interactions between people and the other elements of a system, generally with the goal of optimizing safety and performance. Elements of the system may include tasks, technologies, and environments, as well as other people. The success of these interactions is dependent on the degree to which the physical, sensory, cognitive, and emotional capabilities of the people match the corresponding demands imposed by elements of the system.

Health Care Comes Home: The Human Factors is a wide-ranging investigation of the role of human factors in home health care. This book examines a diverse range of behavioral and human factors issues resulting from the increasing migration of medical devices, technologies, and care practices into the home. Health Care Comes Home lays the groundwork for a thorough integration of human factors research with the design and implementation of home health care devices, technologies, and practices.

The Role of Human Factors in Home Health Care: Workshop Summary provides information on human factors aspects of home health care. This book promotes awareness of the challenges of home health care and provides practical information that can be used by providers of home health care.

In addition, the authoring committee of Health Care Comes Home oversaw preparation of a designers’ guide for the use of health information technologies in home-based health care. Consumer Health Information Technology in the Home: A Guide for Human Factors Design Considerations introduces designers and developers to the practical realities and complexities of managing health care at home. This booklet provides guidance and human factors considerations that will help designers and developers create consumer health information technology applications that are useful resources to achieve better health.

Together, these books and materials are a useful tool for organizations and people concerned with health care in the home. These publications bring attention to both the serious challenges of providing quality home health care, and to the efforts to address those challenges.

Health Care Comes Home: The Human Factors

In the United States, health care devices, technologies, and practices are rapidly moving into the home. The factors driving this migration include the costs of health care, the growing numbers of older adults, the increasing prevalence of chronic conditions…

The Role of Human Factors in Home Health Care: Workshop Summary

The rapid growth of home health care has raised many unsolved issues and will have consequences that are far too broad for any one group to analyze in their entirety. Yet a major influence on the safety, quality, and effectiveness of home health care will be…

Consumer Health Information Technology in the Home: A Guide for Human Factors Design Considerations

Every day, in households across the country, people engage in behavior to improve their current health, recover from disease and injury, or cope with chronic, debilitating conditions. Innovative computer and information systems may help these people manage…

Beyond the Space Shuttle: Future Directions for Space Exploration and Research

Atlantis blasted off for its final mission last week, marking the end of the space shuttle program. As we look back on what we have learned from the space shuttle and other space research programs, it is amazing to consider how far we can advance knowledge of our own solar system and planets beyond in just a few decades. Looking ahead, where do we go from here?

Recapturing a Future for Space Exploration: Life and Physical Sciences Research for a New Era lays out steps that NASA can take to reinvigorate its partnership with the life and physical sciences research community and develops a forward-looking portfolio of research that will provide the basis for recapturing the excitement and value of human spaceflight. The recommendations of this report can guide the U.S. space program to deliver on new exploration initiatives that serve the nation, excite the public, and place the United States again at the forefront of space exploration for the global good.

Vision and Voyages for Planetary Science in the Decade 2013-2022 reviews the status of planetary science in the United States and develops a comprehensive strategy that will continue these advances in the coming decade. Drawing on extensive interactions with the broad planetary science community, this book presents a decadal program of science and exploration with the potential to yield revolutionary new discoveries. The program will achieve long-standing scientific goals with a suite of new missions across the solar system and will provide fundamental new scientific knowledge.

In astronomy and astrophysics, recent discoveries, powerful new ways to observe the universe, and bold new ideas to understand it have created scientific opportunities without precedent. New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics proposes a broad-based, integrated plan for space- and ground-based astronomy and astrophysics for the decade 2012-2021. It also lays the foundations for advances in the decade 2022-2031. Panel Reports–New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics is a collection of reports, each of which addresses a key sub-area of the field, prepared by specialists in that subarea, and each of which plays an important role in setting overall priorities for the field.

These books and others from the Space Studies Board and the Board on Physics and Astronomy are fascinating and useful resources for the scientific community and the explorer in all of us.

	Recapturing a Future for Space Exploration: Life and Physical Sciences Research for a New Era More than four decades have passed since a human first set foot on the Moon. Great strides have been made since in our understanding of what is required to support an enduring human presence in space, as evidenced by progressively more advanced orbiting human…
	Vision and Voyages for Planetary Science in the Decade 2013-2022 In recent years, planetary science has seen a tremendous growth in new knowledge. Deposits of water ice exist at the Moon’s poles. Discoveries on the surface of Mars point to an early warm wet climate, and perhaps conditions under which life could have…
	New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics Driven by discoveries, and enabled by leaps in technology and imagination, our understanding of the universe has changed dramatically over the course of the last few decades. The fields of astronomy and astrophysics are making new connections to…
	Panel Reports–New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics Every ten years the National Research Council releases a survey of astronomy and astrophysics outlining priorities for the coming decade. The most recent survey, titled New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics, provides overall…
	Report of the Panel on Implementing Recommendations from the New Worlds, New Horizons Decadal Survey The 2010 Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey report, New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics (NWNH), outlines a scientifically exciting and programmatically integrated plan for both ground- and space-based astronomy and astrophysics in…
	Assessment of Impediments to Interagency Collaboration on Space and Earth Science Missions Through an examination of case studies, agency briefings, and existing reports, and drawing on personal knowledge and direct experience, the Committee on Assessment of Impediments to Interagency Cooperation on Space and Earth Science Missions found that…
	Defending Planet Earth: Near-Earth Object Surveys and Hazard Mitigation Strategies The United States spends approximately $4 million each year searching for near-Earth objects (NEOs). The objective is to detect those that may collide with Earth. The majority of this funding supports the operation of several observatories that scan the sky…
	Capabilities for the Future: An Assessment of NASA Laboratories for Basic Research Over the past 5 years or more, there has been a steady and significant decrease in NASA’s laboratory capabilities, including equipment, maintenance, and facility upgrades. This adversely affects the support of NASA’s scientists, who rely on these…

Take 5 for Summer Reading

So many books, so little time! Let us help you narrow down the choices with our top five picks for your summer reading list. Buy one or more of the titles below and use discount code ES2011 to save 25%.

Paperback
$29.95 $22.46

America’s Climate Choices

America’s Climate Choices makes the case that the environmental, economic, and humanitarian risks posed by climate change indicate a pressing need for substantial action now to limit the magnitude of climate change and to prepare for adapting to its impacts…Read More

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$32.00 $24.00

Ocean Acidification: A National Strategy to Meet the Challenges of a Changing Ocean

The ocean has absorbed a significant portion of all human-made carbon dioxide emissions. This benefits human society by moderating the rate of climate change, but also causes unprecedented changes to ocean chemistry. Ocean Acidification reviews the current knowledge on ocean acidification and considers the impact on ecosystems and society…Read More

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$24.95 $18.71

Surrounded by Science: Learning Science in Informal Environments

Surrounded by Science makes valuable research about informal science learning accessible to those who are interested in ensuring that people of all ages, from different backgrounds and cultures, have a positive learning experience in environments such as museums, after-school programs, science and technology centers, media enterprises, libraries, aquariums, zoos, and botanical gardens…Read More

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$71.00 $53.25

Enhancing Food Safety: The Role of the Food and Drug Administration

Recent outbreaks of illnesses traced to contaminated food illustrate the holes that exist in the system for monitoring problems and preventing foodborne diseases. Enhancing Food Safety explores the development and implementation of a stronger, more effective food safety system built on a risk-based approach to food safety management…Read More

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$29.00 $21.75

Local Government Actions to Prevent Childhood Obesity

The prevalence of childhood obesity is so high in the United States that it may reduce the life expectancy of today’s generation of children. Local Government Actions to Prevent Childhood Obesity offers healthy eating and physical activity strategies for local, state, and federal governments to consider…Read More

Understanding Life Expectancy in the U.S.: Analysis Behind the Numbers

Over the past 25 years, life expectancy has been rising in the United States at a slower pace than has been achieved in many other high-income countries. Consequently, the United States has been falling steadily in the world rankings for level of life expectancy, and the gap between the United States and countries with the highest achieved life expectancies has been widening, especially for women.

The National Resource Council has recently released a report on this subject, Explaining Divergent Levels of Longevity in High-Income Countries. We asked Barney Cohen, Director of the Committee on Population, for his comments:

“The relatively poor performance of the United States over the past 25 years is surprising given the country spends far more on health care than any other nation in the world, both absolutely and as a percentage of gross national product. Concerned about this divergence, the National Institute on Aging asked the National Research Council’s Committee on Population to examine evidence on possible causes. The panel concluded that a history of heavy smoking and elevated levels of obesity are two factors that are playing a substantial role in the relatively poor performance of the United States. The report should be of interest to both health researchers and policymakers.”

Explaining Divergent Levels of Longevity in High-Income Countries identifies some of the main factors that have been driving differences in life expectancy among wealthy countries and discusses research gaps. This book points out that factors that contribute to lower life expectancy are more common among people of lower social status and those who are less likely to have lifetime access to health care.

A related book, International Differences in Mortality at Older Ages: Dimensions and Sources, is a collection of papers written by experts in the field to provide an assessment of the plausibility of the most obvious possible explanations that have been advanced to explain the poor position of the United States in terms of life expectancy above age 50. The authors, all of whom are at the forefront of work in their fields, provide state-of-the-art assessments of the research and identify gaps in measurement, data, theory, and research design.

These books and others from the Committee on Population can inform debate and guide decision-making.

	Explaining Divergent Levels of Longevity in High-Income Countries Over the last 25 years, life expectancy at age 50 in the U.S. has been rising, but at a slower pace than in many other high-income countries, such as Japan and Australia. This difference is particularly notable given that the U.S. spends more on health care…
	International Differences in Mortality at Older Ages: Dimensions and Sources In 1950 men and women in the United States had a combined life expectancy of 68.9 years, the 12th highest life expectancy at birth in the world. Today, life expectancy is up to 79.2 years, yet the country is now 28th on the list, behind the United Kingdom,…
	Assessing the Impact of Severe Economic Recession on the Elderly: Summary of a Workshop The economic crisis that began in 2008 has had a significant impact on the well-being of certain segments of the population and its disruptive effects can be expected to last well into the future. The National Institute on Aging (NIA), which is concerned with…
	Conducting Biosocial Surveys: Collecting, Storing, Accessing, and Protecting Biospecimens and Biodata Recent years have seen a growing tendency for social scientists to collect biological specimens such as blood, urine, and saliva as part of large-scale household surveys. By combining biological and social data, scientists are opening up new fields of inquiry…
	Improving the Measurement of Late-Life Disability in Population Surveys: Beyond ADLs and IADLs: Summary of a Workshop Improving the Measurement of Late-Life Disability in Population Surveys summarizes a workshop organized to draw upon recent advances to improve the measurement of physical and cognitive disability in population surveys of the elderly population. The…
	Biosocial Surveys Biosocial Surveys analyzes the latest research on the increasing number of multipurpose household surveys that collect biological data along with the more familiar interviewerrespondent information. This book serves as a follow-up to the 2003 volume,…
	Tools and Methods for Estimating Populations at Risk from Natural Disasters and Complex Humanitarian Crises Worldwide, millions of people are displaced annually because of natural or industrial disasters or social upheaval. Reliable data on the numbers, characteristics, and locations of these populations can bolster humanitarian relief efforts and recovery programs. …

Cybersecurity: Issues in Defending Networks and Systems from Cyberattack and Cyberespionage

Last week the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reported that it was a target of a cyber break-in, an attack designed to infiltrate the IMF in order to gain sensitive insider privileged information. Intrusions into secure networks of organizations such as the IMF focus the public’s attention on the subject of cybersecurity. We asked Herb Lin, Chief Scientist at NRC’s Computer Science and Telecommunications Board, for his perspective.

“The IMF incident is troubling in the same way that many other break-ins are troubling—they point to weaknesses in the cybersecurity of organizations important to national and international economies, national security, and economic prosperity. Cyberattacks destroy or damage computer systems or the information in them; cyber exploitations (or cyber espionage) obtain from computers information that should be kept confidential. These kinds of operations are the threats against which effective cybersecurity measures need to be taken by everyone, but especially by organizations that play key roles in society.”

Toward a Safer and More Secure Cyberspace discusses cybersecurity from a defensive perspective. It explores the nature of online threats and examines security vulnerabilities of the Internet and in computer systems and networks. In addition, it considers why organizations have failed to adopt measures that could make them more secure against cyberthreats.

Technology, Policy, Law, and Ethics Regarding U.S. Acquisition and Use of Cyberattack Capabilities focuses on the policy and operational dimensions of cyberattack and cyberexploitation and distinguishes between the two. This book also discusses policy and legal frameworks for the use of cyberattack as an instrument of national policy. It describes the current international and domestic legal structure as it might apply to cyberattack, and considers analogies to other domains of conflict to develop relevant insights.

Proceedings of a Workshop on Deterring Cyberattacks: Informing Strategies and Developing Options for U.S. Policy is a collection of papers by experts in the field about various aspects of cyberattack. This book is phase two of a project aimed to foster a broad, multidisciplinary examination of strategies for deterring cyberattacks on the United States and of the possible utility of these strategies for the U.S. government.

These books can inform debate and contribute to decision-making. PDFs of these and others titles from the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board are free to download.

Toward a Safer and More Secure Cyberspace

Given the growing importance of cyberspace to nearly all aspects of national life, a secure cyberspace is vitally important to the nation, but cyberspace is far from secure today. The United States faces the real risk that adversaries will exploit…

Technology, Policy, Law, and Ethics Regarding U.S. Acquisition and Use of Cyberattack Capabilities

The United States is increasingly dependent on information and information technology for both civilian and military purposes, as are many other nations. Although there is a substantial literature on the potential impact of a cyberattack on the societal…

Proceedings of a Workshop on Deterring CyberAttacks: Informing Strategies and Developing Options for U.S. Policy

In a world of increasing dependence on information technology, the prevention of cyberattacks on a nation’s important computer and communications systems and networks is a problem that looms large. Given the demonstrated limitations of passive cybersecurity…

More than 4,000 National Academies Press PDFs Now Available to Download for Free

The National Academies—National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and National Research Council—are committed to distributing their reports to as wide an audience as possible. Since 1994 we have offered “Read for Free” options for almost all our titles. In addition, we have been offering free downloads of most of our titles to everyone and of all titles to readers in the developing world. We are now going one step further. Effective June 2nd, PDFs of reports that are currently for sale on the National Academies Press (NAP) Website and PDFs associated with future reports* will be offered free of charge to all Web visitors.

For more than 140 years, the NAS, NAE, IOM, and NRC have been advising the nation on issues of science, technology, and medicine. Like no other collection of organizations, the Academies enlist the nation’s foremost scientists, engineers, health professionals, and other experts to address the scientific and technical aspects of society’s most pressing problems. The results of their work are authoritative and independent studies published by the National Academies Press.

NAP produces more than 200 books a year on a wide range of topics in science, engineering, and health, capturing the best-informed views on important issues.

We invite you to visit the NAP homepage and experience the new opportunities available to access our publications. There you can sign up for MyNAP, a new way for us to deliver all of our content for free to loyal subscribers like you and to reward you with exclusive offers and discounts on our printed books. This enhancement to our free downloads means that we can reach out even further to inform government decision making and public policy, increase public education and understanding, and promote the acquisition and dissemination of knowledge.

*There are a small number of reports that never had PDF files and, therefore, those reports are not available for download. In addition, part of the series, “Nutrient Requirements of Domestic Animals” are not be available in PDF and future titles in this series will also not have PDFs associated with them.