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…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Risk Analysis | Food/Agriculture | Energy/Engineering | North America | Health Outcomes | Evidence Synthesis | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Technology Assessment | Infectious Diseases | Maternal/Reproductive Health | Child/Nutrition | Chronic Disease/Risk | Injuries/Accidents | Social Determinants | Health Systems | Global Governance | Climate/Environment | Education/Labor | Health/Medicine | Military/Defense | Science/Technology | Global | High School | College | Graduate | Doctoral | Professional | Critical Thinking/Analysis | Decision Making/Leadership | Policy Translation -
Lesson/ModuleWeb Portal, Teaching Resource 2016Educational Module: Models and Practice
This module is an introduction to models and to their role in regulatory decision-making, and …
This module is an introduction to models and to their role in regulatory decision-making, and is intended for non-scientists from a variety of different backgrounds including law, journalism, public policy, and business. The module covers three main themes: (1) Core lessons on using models for policy making; (2) Key questions on the art and science of modeling including how models differ from other scientific techniques; and (3) Key ideas on using models in policy-making including how…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Mathematical Models | Government/Law | Business/Industry | North America | Environmental Health | Policy/Regulation | Climate/Environment | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology | Global | College | Graduate | Doctoral | Critical Thinking/Analysis | Conceptual Mapping | Decision Making/Leadership -
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…
Risk Analysis | Government/Law | Energy/Engineering | Business/Industry | North America | Probability/Bayes | Environmental Health | Policy/Regulation | Climate/Environment | Science/Technology | Global | College | Graduate | Doctoral | Critical Thinking/Analysis | Decision Making/Leadership -
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…
Risk Analysis | Government/Law | Food/Agriculture | North America | Evidence Synthesis | Child/Nutrition | Chronic Disease/Risk | Environmental Health | Policy/Regulation | Climate/Environment | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology | Global | College | Graduate | Doctoral | Professional | Critical Thinking/Analysis | Quantitative Literacy -
Lesson/ModuleWeb Portal, Teaching Resource 2017Translating Science Into Policy: The Role of Decision Science
This module introduces the basic techniques of “decision science” that are used in policy making. …
This module introduces the basic techniques of “decision science” that are used in policy making. The materials are mainly prescriptive, focusing on how to make good decisions, but also include examples of the systematic ways that people make poor decisions. The module: (1) surveys the meanings of utility; (2) examines decision making in conditions where risk is not an issue; (3) examines decision making in conditions where risk is an issue because the likelihood of…
Decision Analysis | Government/Law | North America | Decision Psychology | Preferences/Values | Infectious Diseases | Policy/Regulation | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology | Global | College | Graduate | Doctoral | Professional | Critical Thinking/Analysis | Decision Making/Leadership | Policy Translation -
Lesson/ModuleWeb Portal, Teaching Resource 2016DNA Evidence: Case Study in Probabilities
This educational module on DNA evidence presents trial testimony, exhibits, and opinions in a case …
This educational module on DNA evidence presents trial testimony, exhibits, and opinions in a case in which federal courts at every level discerned “inaccuracies” in the testimony of a leading expert about probabilities associated with the DNA evidence. By embedding these legal materials in background explanations, critical questions, and short problems, the module supports self-study and class discussions that together can elucidate key principles in scientific reasoning and quantitative analysis and that can help students…
Risk Analysis | Government/Law | North America | Probability/Bayes | Test Performance | Injuries/Accidents | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology | Global | College | Graduate | Doctoral | Critical Thinking/Analysis | Quantitative Literacy -
Lesson/ModuleWeb Portal, Teaching Resource 2016Educational Module: Drug-Induced Birth Defects
Using the currently topical issue of whether SSRI (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor) anti-depressants cause birth …
Using the currently topical issue of whether SSRI (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor) anti-depressants cause birth defects, the module aims to provide students with a general understanding of the following: (1) human risk factor causation as determined by epidemiologic methods; (2) the limits of non-human toxicological evidence to the assessment of causality in humans; (3) the importance of pharmacovigilance for all medications; (4) special difficulties in identifying causes of human birth defects; (5) the importance of…
Risk Analysis | Government/Law | North America | Health Outcomes | Evidence Synthesis | Child/Nutrition | Chronic Disease/Risk | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology | Global | College | Graduate | Doctoral | Critical Thinking/Analysis | Quantitative Literacy -
Lesson/ModuleWeb Portal, Teaching Resource 2016Educational Module: Vaccines
This module engages students in learning about association and causation in the context of vaccines, …
This module engages students in learning about association and causation in the context of vaccines, their side effects, and legal issues that could arise as a result of side effects associated with vaccinations. The module employs five case studies. In the first two case studies, a child receives a vaccination, and students must determine whether an event (vaccination) causes a side effect in the child. In the third case study, a child who has not…
Risk Analysis | Government/Law | North America | Health Outcomes | Technology Assessment | Infectious Diseases | Health Systems | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology | Global | College | Graduate | Doctoral | Critical Thinking/Analysis | Decision Making/Leadership | Quantitative Literacy -
Lesson/ModuleWeb Portal, Teaching Resource 2016Educational Module: Forensic Pattern Recognition
This module uses latent print (fingerprint) identification as a case study of the broader category …
This module uses latent print (fingerprint) identification as a case study of the broader category of forensic pattern recognition evidence. The case of forensic pattern recognition evidence is meant, in turn, to be a case study of the broader issue of the interaction between science and law and policy. The case of fingerprinting identification poses challenging questions for legal professionals and policy-makers. Although fingerprint identification is one of the most widely used and widely trusted…
Decision Analysis | Government/Law | North America | Decision Theory | Probability/Bayes | Policy/Regulation | Science/Technology | Global | College | Graduate | Doctoral | Critical Thinking/Analysis | Decision Making/Leadership | Quantitative Literacy