Office of Technology Assessment - 919 Matching Results

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Finding a balance: computer software, intellectual property and the challenge of technological change

Description: This report identifies three policy issues; 1) the appropriate scope of copyright protection for computer software; 2) patent protection for software-related inventions and algorithms, and how the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will handle these types of applications; and 3) complications facing librar4ies and commercial and private producers and users of digital information, including computer-based mixed media products.
Date: 1992
Creator: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Fueling development: energy technologies for developing countries: summary

Description: This report discusses the issues surrounding energy efficiency in developing countries. Explores the way in which developing countries meet their energy needs, and how that affects the political stability and broad-based economic growth.
Date: 1992
Creator: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications: Process, Priorities and Goals

Description: This Background Paper summarizes a one-day workshop convened to assess the effectiveness of the planning and priority-setting mechanisms used by NASA’s Office of Space Science and Applications (OSSA) in carrying out its diverse scientific program.
Date: January 1992
Creator: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Technology Against Terrorism: Structuring Security

Description: This report is devoted primarily to three other topics: interagency coordination of efforts in counterterrorist research and development, integrated security systems, and the role of human factors in aviation security. In addition, it furnishes details on a number of technologies that play a role in counterterrorism.
Date: January 1992
Creator: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Review of a Protocol for a Study of Reproductive Health Outcomes Among Women Vietnam Veterans

Description: This report discusses the study that has been proposed as a partial response to the mandate of Public Law 99-272; that law also requires approval from the Director of OTA before any such studies are undertaken, which is the reason for this review. This study is one of three that make up the full VA response to the mandate to look into the health of women Vietnam veterans.
Date: December 1991
Creator: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The 1992 World Administrative Radio Conference: Issues for U.S. International Spectrum Policy

Description: This report examines the U.S. preparations process for WARC-92, highlighting efforts to integrate the needs and concerns of various interest groups. It also reviews the forces and trends affecting the United States as it approaches WARC-92, and is intended to inform future congressional oversight of the domestic and international radio communication policy process.
Date: November 1991
Creator: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Dioxin Treatment Technologies

Description: This paper presents the status of national efforts to cleanup dioxin-contaminated sites and the technologies that have been used, proposed, and researched. It covers thermal and nonthermal treatment techniques as well as approaches such as stabilization and storage. It discusses the development of these technologies as well as advantages and disadvantages of their use.
Date: November 1991
Creator: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The FBI Fingerprint Identification Automation Program: Issues and Options

Description: This report focuses on key assumptions that will affect the sizing and procurement of the new FBI system, and on other related steps that appear necessary to ensure complete and up-to-date record systems. These include full implementation of a Federal/State/local partnership for maintaining and exchanging fingerprint and criminal history records; enactment of an interstate compact or Federal legislation setting out uniform rules for the exchange of such records; standards and funding for improv… more
Date: November 1991
Creator: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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HIV in the Health Care Workplace

Description: This background paper examines evidence of the risk of HIV transmission in the health care workplace and discusses the policy implications of CDC guidelines and congressional actions in response to this risk.
Date: November 1991
Creator: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Miniaturization Technologies

Description: This report analyzes various technologies that may be important for future advances in miniaturization. Current research in the United States and other nations is pushing the limits of miniaturization to the point that structures only hundreds of atoms thick will be commonly manufactured. Researchers studying atomic and molecular interactions are continuing to push the frontiers, creating knowledge needed to continue progress in miniaturization. Scientists and engineers are creating microscopic… more
Date: November 1991
Creator: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Adolescent Health, Volume 2: Background and the Effectiveness of Selected Prevention and Treatment Services

Description: The report responds to the request of numerous Members of Congress to review the physical, emotional, and behavioral health status of contemporary American adolescents, including adolescents in groups who might be more likely to be in special need of health-related interventions: adolescents living in poverty, adolescents from racial and ethnic minority groups, Native American adolescents, and adolescents in rural areas.
Date: October 1991
Creator: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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American Military Power: Future Needs, Future Choices

Description: This background paper outlines some of the issues of importance for making choices about the future nature and role of U.S. armed forces, and suggests how these choices will affect defense base requirements. The final report of the assessment, to be delivered in the spring of 1992, will address specific policy options arising from the strategic choices and tactical decisions discussed here.
Date: October 1991
Creator: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Biotechnology in a Global Economy

Description: This report examines the impact of biotechnology in several industries, including pharmaceuticals, chemicals, agriculture, and hazardous waste clean-up; the efforts of 16 Nations to develop commercial uses of biotechnology; and the actions, both direct and indirect, taken by various governments that influence innovation in biotechnology.
Date: October 1991
Creator: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Competing Economies: America, Europe, and the Pacific Rim

Description: This report examines how the economic environment of the United States can be made more conducive to improving manufacturing performance. It considers how Federal institutions, in cooperation with industry, can develop competitiveness strategies for high-tech, fast growing industries; and how trade, financial, and technology policies could be combined into a strategic competitiveness policy.
Date: October 1991
Creator: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Improving Automobile Fuel Economy: New Standards, New Approaches

Description: This OTA report responds to a request by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources to examine the fuel economy potential of the U.S. fleet and to assist Congress in establishing new fuel economy standards.
Date: October 1991
Creator: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Screening Mammography in Primary Care Settings: Implications for Cost Access and Quality

Description: This staff paper examines the implications for cost and quality, as well as for access to mammography, of expanding the supply of mammographic services in the primary care setting. The special issues raised by third-party businesses that package mammography services for primary care physicians are also discussed.
Date: October 1991
Creator: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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U.S. Oil Import Vulnerability: The Technical Replacement Capability

Description: This report examines the changes that have taken place in world oil markets and the U.S. economy since 1984 and provides revised estimates of the technical oil replacement potential that might be attained in the event of a severe and long lasting cutoff of imported oil. The report presents a variety of policy options that could help accelerate the adoption of oil replacement technologies in preparation for, or in response to, a severe supply disruption, or as part of a long-term national policy… more
Date: October 1991
Creator: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Biological Rhythms: Implications for the Worker

Description: This report discusses biological rhythms: what they are, how they are controlled by the brain, and the role they play in regulating physiological and cognitive functions. The major focus of the report is the examination of the effects of nonstandard work hours on biological rhythms and how these effects can interact with other factors to affect the health, performance, and safety of workers.
Date: September 1991
Creator: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Global Arms Trade: Commerce in Advanced Military Technology and Weapons

Description: This report, the final product of OTA’s assessment on international collaboration in defense technology, explores the form and dynamics of the international defense industry, the intricacies of technology transfer and equipment sales, and the implications for U.S. policy.
Date: September 1991
Creator: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Medical Monitoring and Screening in the Workplace: Results of a Survey

Description: This OTA Background Paper presents the results of a survey of 1,500 U.S. companies, the 50 largest utilities, and the largest unions. The survey was designed to obtain information about the types of medical monitoring and screening done in the United States and the extent of their use. OTA finds that virtually all large U.S. employers use some of these tests.
Date: September 1991
Creator: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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New Ways: Tiltrotor Aircraft and Magnetically Levitated Vehicles

Description: Common issues for these systems include their possible contributions to improving mobility in congested corridors, U.S. technology leadership, the Federal role in transportation research and development, and institutional and community barriers to major, new infrastructure programs. Moreover, some Federal financing is likely to be required if commercial maglev or tiltrotor technologies are to be developed by U.S. industry over the next decade. Congress will need to clarify its objectives for su… more
Date: September 1991
Creator: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Automated Record Checks for Firearm Purchasers: Issues and Options

Description: This report assesses the proposals and prospects for automated checks, ranging from the point-of-sale “instant” check now used by the State of Virginia, to the establishment of a computerized national felons file, to live scanning of fingerprints, or the issuance of ‘smart’ cards to identify firearm purchasers. It considers the benefits, costs, and risks of automated checks. The report examines the relationship between automated record checks and waiting periods, the wide variability in State c… more
Date: July 1991
Creator: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Energy Technology Choices: Shaping Our Future

Description: The report provides a broad overview of energy choices facing the Nation. It is not an exhaustive analysis of any one technology; rather, it draws together the main themes of OTA reports from the past 16 years, and other documents, into an outline of the main directions the country could follow.
Date: July 1991
Creator: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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