Resources Repository
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Resource PortalWeb Portal, Teaching Resource 2024National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, founded in 1863, has a mission to provide …
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, founded in 1863, has a mission to provide nonpartisan, objective guidance for decision makers on policy challenges in the context of science, engineering, and medicine. NAS reports and convening activities have a wide range of impacts on policy and practice. They guide the development of federal laws and regulations, improve the effectiveness of government programs, shape the direction of research fields, and inform public knowledge and dialogue about…
Health Outcomes | Energy/Engineering | Climate/Environment | Priority Setting/Ethics | Evidence Synthesis | Risk Analysis | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Technology Assessment | Infectious Diseases | Maternal/Reproductive Health | Child/Nutrition | Chronic Disease/Risk | Injuries/Accidents | Social Determinants | Health Systems | Global Governance | Education/Labor | Food/Agriculture | Health/Medicine | Military/Defense | Science/Technology | Global | North America | High School | College | Graduate | Doctoral | Professional | Critical Thinking/Analysis | Decision Making/Leadership | Policy Translation -
Resource PackPublication, Teaching Resource 2024Resource Pack: Introduction to Benefit-Cost Analysis
This resource pack, curated by the Center for Health Decision Science, introduces the theory and …
This resource pack, curated by the Center for Health Decision Science, introduces the theory and practice of benefit-cost analysis. It is targeted towards advanced students as well as practitioners and those interested in teaching benefit-cost analysis. Benefit-cost analysis (also referred to as cost-benefit analysis) is a well-established and widely-used form of economic evaluation. It is designed to inform policy and other decisions by providing evidence on the consequences of alternative interventions. In benefit-cost analysis, all…
Climate/Environment | Preferences/Values | Priority Setting/Ethics | Decision Analysis | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Social Determinants | Policy/Regulation | Economics/Finance | Government/Law | Health/Medicine | Global | College | Graduate | Doctoral | Professional | Critical Thinking/Analysis -
Resource PortalWeb Portal, Teaching Resource 2024Decision Sciences Institute
The Decision Sciences Institute (DSI) was founded in 1968 as the American Institute for the …
The Decision Sciences Institute (DSI) was founded in 1968 as the American Institute for the Decision Sciences (renamed to the Decision Science Institute in 1986). DSI is an independent non-profit organization with a mission to enrich the discipline of decision sciences and improve educational programs and instruction in decision sciences. DSI conducts annual meetings at the national and the regional levels, and produces a monthly news publication called “Decision Line” as well as two journals,…
Climate/Environment | Decision Analysis | Operations Research | Business/Industry | Health/Medicine | Global | College | Graduate | Doctoral | Professional | Critical Thinking/Analysis | Quantitative Literacy -
Lesson/ModuleWeb Portal, Teaching Resource 2016Educational Module: Shale Gas Development
This module has been developed around the topic of the extraction of natural gas from …
This module has been developed around the topic of the extraction of natural gas from shale. This practice, commonly referred to as fracking, involves several practices that have complex and uncertain consequences. In the module, three scientific concepts are explored in order to elucidate how science is applied toward addressing real-world problems. The scientific concepts are: (1) correlation is not the same as causation, (2) hazard is not the same as risk, and (3) risk…
Energy/Engineering | Climate/Environment | Probability/Bayes | Risk Analysis | Environmental Health | Policy/Regulation | Business/Industry | Government/Law | Science/Technology | Global | North America | College | Graduate | Doctoral | Critical Thinking/Analysis | Decision Making/Leadership -
BookPublication 2018Pricing Lives: Guideposts for a Safer Society
This book describes how the government came to adopt the value of a statistical life …
This book describes how the government came to adopt the value of a statistical life (VSL) approach for valuing changes in mortality risks and argues that its more widespread use would create a safer and more equitable society. The author estimates these values based on how much more money workers would demand to take on more hazardous jobs; his current estimate is $10 million. The book addresses numerous topics such as whether older people’s lives…
Climate/Environment | Preferences/Values | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Policy/Regulation | College | Graduate | Critical Thinking/Analysis -
Resource PackPublication, Teaching Resource 2023Resource Pack: Books on Decision Making and Thinking
This resource pack, curated by the Center for Health Decision Science, features books about how …
This resource pack, curated by the Center for Health Decision Science, features books about how we think, learn, and decide. We aim to provide an introduction to some of the core concepts in decision theory and psychology with this collection, and hope that it will stimulate further inquiry. These books are geared to a general audience; the majority are very accessible reads. The collection is broadly divided into three categories. The first is made up of…
Decision Theory | Climate/Environment | Decision Psychology | Probability/Bayes | Preferences/Values | Business/Industry | Culture/Society | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology | Global | High School | College | Graduate | Doctoral | Professional | Critical Thinking/Analysis | Decision Making/Leadership | Policy Translation -
ArticlePublication 2017Valuing Non-Fatal Risks: Monetary and Health-Utility Measures
This article discusses metrics for valuing environmental, health, and safety policies, which should be consistent …
This article discusses metrics for valuing environmental, health, and safety policies, which should be consistent with both the preferences of affected individuals and social preferences for distribution of health risks in the population. Two classes of metrics are widely used: monetary measures (e.g., willingness to pay) and health-utility measures (e.g., quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), disability-adjusted life years (DALYs)). Health-utility measures impose more structure than monetary measures, with the result that individuals’ preferences often appear inconsistent…
Climate/Environment | Preferences/Values | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Policy/Regulation | College | Graduate | Critical Thinking/Analysis -
Lesson/ModuleWeb Portal, Teaching Resource 2016Scientific Evidence of Factual Causation
This module examines three scientific areas that provide evidence bearing on causation in the “toxic …
This module examines three scientific areas that provide evidence bearing on causation in the “toxic tort” or environmental disease context: epidemiology, toxicology, and genetics. These scientific disciplines are used in civil lawsuits and in regulatory proceedings in which causation or risk is an issue. The module is appropriate for non-scientist law students as well as others interested in learning the science of toxic tort causation, including practicing attorneys, judges, and public policy and public health…
Climate/Environment | Evidence Synthesis | Risk Analysis | Child/Nutrition | Chronic Disease/Risk | Environmental Health | Policy/Regulation | Food/Agriculture | Government/Law | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology | Global | North America | College | Graduate | Doctoral | Professional | Critical Thinking/Analysis | Quantitative Literacy -
ArticlePublication 2012Expert Elicitation of VSL
This article uses expert elicitation to address the monetary value of avoided premature mortality, which …
This article uses expert elicitation to address the monetary value of avoided premature mortality, which typically dominates the quantified benefits of air pollution regulations. Formal expert elicitation methods are one means of characterizing associated uncertainties. The authors undertake a pilot study that elicits quantitative probabilistic judgments of uncertainties in value per statistical life (VSL) estimates for use in an air pollution context. The two-stage elicitation addresses uncertainties in both a base case VSL for a…
Climate/Environment | Preferences/Values | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Policy/Regulation | College | Graduate | Critical Thinking/Analysis