Tony,
True, for pure research, it's not a requirement. However, for our output to have any broader impact, some degree of buy-in is required. A recommendation that we hand off that is immediately dismissed is effectively pointless.
Perhaps I'm looking at this wrong. Maybe the approach should be both. Let's explore these avenues and learn, and THEN make a recommendation. The thing I'm most encouraged by in this process are the papers that are beginning to show up in the academic community. Having some concrete methods itself provides us with research questions that we are beginning to get some answers to. That's important because data and analysis can really help both confirm and disspell some of the cautions and claims that have been raised.
Eliot -- to unsubscribe send a message to rrg-request@psg.com with the word 'unsubscribe' in a single line as the message text body. archive: <http://psg.com/lists/rrg/> & ftp://psg.com/pub/lists/rrg