June 2013

Turkey

commentary
Erdogan's Next Steps
Safeguarding Turkey's interests — and Erdogan's own political agenda — depends on Erdogan's willingness to adopt a more even-handed approach to his domestic opponents, writes F. Stephen Larrabee.
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Jun 28, 2013
Project Syndicate
F. Stephen Larrabee

Egypt

commentary
Egypt's Self-Fulfilling Prophesy
Rebel, or Tamarud, is a petition drive aimed at ousting President Morsi by collecting more signatures calling for his resignation than the number of votes he received in the 2012 elections. On June 30, the organizers will take to the streets in a rally that is likely to touch off clashes with security forces and Morsi's supporters.
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Jun 28, 2013
The RAND Blog and GlobalSecurity.org
Jeffrey Martini
International Education

commentary
The Middle East's Science Revolution?
Even as conflict rages, a wave of research and innovation in Arabian Gulf countries is bringing with it significant investment in science and research infrastructure — and even U.S.-style universities, writes Shelly Culbertson.
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Jun 27, 2013
CNN
Shelly Culbertson @SC_Culbertson
commentary
To Help Africa, Do Business There
Competition from American industry would help drive Chinese firms to be more socially responsible and generate greater benefits for African communities, write Larry Hanauer and Lyle Morris.
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Jun 27, 2013
U.S. News & World Report
Larry Hanauer, Lyle J. Morris
Scientific Professions

commentary
Metrics Mess Calls for an Umpire, Not a Purge
Bibliometricians, who have so far paid little attention to how their creations behave when released into the wild, should be monitoring how metrics are being applied and devising guidelines for best practice, writes Gemma Derrick.
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Jun 27, 2013
Research Fortnight
Gemma Derrick
International Diplomacy

commentary
Before Piling on New Sanctions, Give Rouhani a Chance
The imposition of sanction after sanction without a clear diplomatic approach may convince Iran's leadership that the United States seeks regime implosion and overthrow rather than a solution to the nuclear crisis, write Alireza Nader and Colin H. Kahl.
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Jun 27, 2013
Al-Monitor
Colin H. Kahl, Alireza Nader
Biomedical Research

blog
AcademyHealth Presents Ateev Mehrotra with Alice S. Hersh New Investigator Award
RAND congratulates physician researcher Ateev Mehrotra on receiving AcademyHealth's 2013 Alice S. Hersh New Investigator Award. The award recognizes early-career health services researchers who “show exceptional promise for future contributions.”
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Jun 26, 2013
Afghanistan

commentary
Book Review: 'Return of a King: The Battle for Afghanistan, 1839–42' by William Dalrymple
While Dalrymple's account of the British retreat is masterful, his effort to generate lessons for today is at times simplistic, writes Seth Jones. Massive social and political changes in Afghanistan make it thorny to pull many lessons from the first Anglo-Afghan war.
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Jun 26, 2013
The Washington Post
Seth G. Jones
Global Climate Change

blog
RAND Experts on Obama's Climate Speech
Tweets from RAND researchers during President Obama's climate speech on June 25, 2013.
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Jun 26, 2013
Egypt

blog
Luxor Governor's Resignation Highlights Growing Divide in Egypt
The governor of the Egyptian city of Luxor, Mohamed El-Khayat, resigned amid protests last week, just days after being appointed to the post by President Mohamed Morsi. His selection was controversial due to his affiliation with an Islamist terror group that in 1997 killed 62 people in Luxor, many of them tourists.
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Jun 25, 2013
International Economic Relations

commentary
Rouhani: Rival Constituencies
Rouhani may improve the economy in pursuing his underlying goal to preserve the Islamic system, writes Alireza Nader. But not all Iranians would be satisfied with just economic improvements. Many want greater freedom of expression and a bigger say in the political system.
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Jun 24, 2013
The Iran Primer, USIP
Alireza Nader
Nuclear Sciences

commentary
San Onofre Risk Factors
The ongoing effort to open a spent fuel repository in the U.S. demonstrates the magnitude of the technical and political challenges of such an undertaking, writes Tom LaTourrette.
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Jun 20, 2013
The Orange County Register
Tom LaTourrette
Mathematics

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The Limits of Career and Technical Education in Improving Math Achievement among High School Students
Students who had taken occupationally focused career and technical education (CTE) courses in addition to their regular academic courses had similar learning gains to those who had only taken academic courses: an academic curriculum that includes CTE courses neither bolstered nor curtailed the acquisition of math skills.
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Jun 19, 2013
Policy Analysis for California Education
Robert Bozick
Military Career Field Management

blog
Pentagon Announces Plans to Integrate Women in Combat
Senior Pentagon officials announced today that by 2016, women will be allowed to join front-line combat roles, including infantry, armor, and special operations. RAND has conducted research on the evolving roles of women in the military and has several experts available to discuss the DoD's policies.
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Jun 18, 2013
Affordable Care Act

commentary
Will Small Firms Self-Insure After Jan. 1, 2014?
Because of the ACA's regulations, some smaller employers with young and healthy workers are considering avoiding the purchase of health care coverage in the regulated market, opting instead to self-insure their employees.
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Jun 17, 2013
The RAND Blog
Amado Cordova, Christine Eibner @Chrissyeibner
commentary
Putting the Spring in the Arab Spring
Qatar has a salsa scene. Dubai hosted the big international Fujairah Latin Festival. The Oman Salsa Festival took place in March. Jordan and Cairo both have a salsa scene. What makes this so conversation-worthy is that it is indicative of a growing cultural openness in parts of the Middle East.
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Jun 17, 2013
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Shelly Culbertson @SC_Culbertson