Featured Pardee RAND Research

Pardee RAND students and faculty — and even some alumni — contribute to RAND research. This page features selected reports and projects to which the Pardee RAND community has contributed.

How Are Teachers Educating Students with Disabilities During the Pandemic?
Apr 8, 2021

Students Katie Feistel and Heather Gomez-Bendana examined how remote and hybrid learning can present particular challenges to students with disabilities (SWD) and their teachers. Nearly two in five teachers said that their schools offered alternative instructional arrangements for SWD during the pandemic, but this was less common in majority non-White and high-poverty schools.
Water Planning for the Uncertain Future
Mar 8, 2021

James Syme (cohort '18) and alumni David Groves ('01) and Edmundo Molina-Perez ('11) conducted seven case studies focusing on the western United States and Mexico to develop an interactive tool that provides information about decisionmaking under deep uncertainty (DMDU) methods—specifically, Robust Decision Making (RDM).
Vaccine Hesitancy Is High Among Black Americans, Including Health Care Workers
Mar 1, 2021

Lower vaccination rates among Black Americans would further widen COVID-19 inequities in diagnosis, hospitalization, and mortality. But research by Priya Gandhi (cohort '20) and colleagues finds that concerns about vaccine safety, mistrust of the government's transparency around COVID-19, and beliefs about racism in health care are contributing to mistrust of the vaccine.
Stress Topped the Reasons Why Public School Teachers Quit, Even Before COVID-19
Feb 22, 2021

When asked why they left the profession, former teachers cited stress twice as often as insufficient pay, according to research by student Melissa Diliberti (cohort '19). Most former teachers took jobs with less or equal pay, and 3 in 10 without health insurance or retirement benefits.
Equipping the 21st Century Marine Corps
Feb 18, 2021

The United States Marine Corps has implemented some proactive measures to respond to global events and crises. One such measure is deploying task-organized units, also referred to as provisional units. How do these provisional units currently source personnel and equipment requirements?
Setting U.S. Hospital Prices Could Cut Overall Health Spending by Billions
Feb 18, 2021

Price regulations face political obstacles and have been strongly opposed by medical providers. But alum Jodi Liu (cohort '12) and student Nabeel Qureshi ('18) find that setting prices for all commercial health care payers could reduce hospital spending by $61.9 billion to $236.6 billion a year if the rates were set at 100 to 150 percent of the amounts paid by Medicare.
Primary Care Productivity
Feb 17, 2021

To advance understanding of primary care clinic productivity, Annie Brothers (cohort '18) and her coauthors reviewed relevant literature and convened a diverse set of stakeholders to explore definitions of productivity, input, and output in primary care; identify relevant tools; and establish consensus on key aspects of primary care productivity.
Fighter Basing Options to Improve Access to Advanced Training Ranges
Feb 5, 2021

The U.S. Air Force has determined that its fighter pilots do not currently have sufficient access to training ranges that are capable of representing advanced potential adversaries. What squadron restationing and range upgrade policies maximize access to advanced training ranges?
Comparing National and International Approaches to COVID-19 Measures
Jan 29, 2021

To track how well different countries and U.S. states are responding to the pandemic—and to make valid cross-country and cross-state comparisons of key outcomes—uniform measures are needed. Hamad Al-Ibrahim (cohort '18), Joan Chang ('18), and RAND colleagues evaluated the comparability of commonly used COVID-19-related measures and make recommendations for the use and development of measures that would allow for more standardized and valid comparisons.
U.S. Prescription Drug Prices Are 2.56 Times Those in Other Countries
Jan 28, 2021

Prices for prescription drugs in the United States in 2018 were 256 percent of those in 32 comparison countries, according to research by Alejandro Becerra-Ornelas (cohort '17) and Mahlet Tebeka ('17). For brand-name drugs, U.S. prices were 344 percent higher. But for generic drugs, they were only 84 percent of the average paid in other nations.
Analysis of Global Management of Air Force War Reserve Materiel to Support Operations in Contested and Degraded Environments
Jan 14, 2021

The Air Force's current system of war reserve materiel management is positioned more for efficiency than effectiveness. What do case studies reveal about the trade-offs and best practices for a centralized versus decentralized management approach?
Teachers’ Perceptions of What Makes Instructional Materials
Jan 14, 2021

How do middle and high school English language arts and mathematics teachers use and perceive their instructional materials? Insight into teachers' perceptions of their materials is especially important during COVID-19 pandemic as teachers adapt for online learning.
Findings on Mosaic Warfare from a Colonel Blotto Game
Jan 5, 2021

Is Mosaic warfare more cost-effective and robust than more-monolithic approaches to conflict? Game theory can be a useful tool for studying the relative utility of these strategies.
Despite Its Challenges, Remote Learning Is Here to Stay
Dec 15, 2020

School district leaders are concerned about students' unequal opportunities to learn during the pandemic, students' social and emotional learning needs, and insufficient funding to cover staff, according to Melissa Diliberti (cohort '19) and her coauthors. Still, about two in ten leaders still anticipate that a fully remote learning option will become a permanent public school offering.
Preparing Children for Civic Life in the Era of Truth Decay
Dec 8, 2020

To restore the role of facts in public life, it's important for America's youth to develop strong civic skills. Lynn Hu (cohort '19) and colleagues find that students can build these skills in the classroom, but teachers need better resources and more support to help them do it.
The Benefits and Costs of Decarbonizing Costa Rica's Economy
Nov 24, 2020

Costa Rica set the ambitious goal of becoming carbon-neutral by 2050. Alumni David Groves and Edmundo Molina-Perez, with students James Syme and Carlos Calvo Hernandez, evaluated the benefits and costs of its National Decarbonization Plan and found that under most plausible assumptions about the future, the plan would achieve or nearly achieve its goals and do so at a net economic benefit.
This School Year Could Be Another Casualty of the Pandemic
Nov 16, 2020

Most U.S. schools are providing either fully remote or hybrid instruction as the pandemic continues to limit students' learning. Melissa Diliberti (cohort '19) finds that students are less prepared for grade-level work and those from vulnerable populations are most at risk of falling behind. Some 80 percent of teachers report burnout.
How Can Green Infrastructure Help to Manage Rainfall in an Urban Watershed?
Oct 29, 2020

Cities across the United States are struggling to effectively manage stormwater. A study by Jordan Fischbach (cohort '04) and David Catt ('16) shows how the challenges of increasing volumes of stormwater in a complex urban environment can be addressed by a mix of solutions.
When Can Automated Vehicles Be Considered Safe Enough?
Oct 29, 2020

Establishing whether automated vehicles are acceptably safe is not straightforward, and continual technology development adds complication. Luke Irwin (cohort '16) helped to analyze the best approaches to assess AV safety and improve communication about safety, both of which are important for building and sustaining public trust.
Managing Heavy Rainfall with Green Infrastructure
Oct 26, 2020

Alum Jordan Fischbach (cohort '04), student David Catt ('16) and colleagues evaluated Pittsburgh's Negley Run watershed to explore how eco-friendly stormwater infrastructure could reduce flooding and provide positive economic benefits in areas that face urgent flood risk.
How Russia Targets U.S. Elections
Oct 1, 2020

In this campaign season, Russia might try to manipulate U.S. voters through social media as it did in 2016, and new technologies have made these efforts easier. Russia's tactics aim to polarize Americans, create distrust, and paralyze the political process. Student Hilary Reininger ('16) and colleagues ask, what is the best defense against them?
Predisaster Conditions, Hurricane Damage, and Recovery Needs in Puerto Rico
Sep 30, 2020

Puerto Rico was facing challenges and stressors prior to the 2017 hurricane season. A comprehensive assessment of those issues and the damage caused by Hurricane Maria and other 2017 storms identifies short- and longer-term needs for Puerto Rico to recover and to build resilience to future storms.
Municipalities on the Front Lines of Puerto Rico's Recovery
Sep 30, 2020

How did Hurricanes Irma and Maria affect Puerto Rico's municipalities in terms of their ability to govern, deliver services, and recover from the damage they incurred? An assessment answers this question and suggests courses of action to address damage and improve municipal capacity.
Schools Weren't Prepared for a Crisis Like COVID-19
Sep 29, 2020

Before COVID-19, less than half of U.S. public schools had a written plan for dealing with a pandemic and only 38 states had publicly available school health emergency plans, according to research by Melissa Diliberti (cohort '19) and RAND colleagues. How did schools' preparation affect their transitions to remote learning and principals' confidence in student achievement?
The Digital Divide and COVID-19
Sep 24, 2020

Findings from a survey of U.S. teachers reveal how limited home internet access has been a barrier to providing instruction amid pandemic-related school closures. Student Melissa Diliberti (cohort '19) and colleagues find the problem is particularly acute among high-poverty schools.