Search Results

open access

Access to Space: The Future of U.S. Space Transportation Systems

Description: This report is the final, summarizing report in a series of products from a broad assessment of space transportation technologies undertaken by OTA for the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.
Date: April 1990
Creator: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Affordable Spacecraft: Design and Launch Alternatives

Description: This background paper examines several proposals for reducing the costs of spacecraft and other payloads and describes launch systems for implementing them. It is one of a series of products of a broad assessment of space transportation technologies undertaken by OTA at the request of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.
Date: January 1990
Creator: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Agricultural Research and Technology Transfer Policies for the 1990s: a special report of OTA's assessment on emerging agricultural technology: issues for the 1990s

Description: This report addresses the central issues in the debate of the 1990 Farm Bill. It was requested as part of a larger study examining emerging agricultural technologies and related issues for the 1990s by the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry and the House Committee on Agriculture.
Date: March 1990
Creator: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Alaskan Water for California?: The Subsea Pipeline Option

Description: This background paper focuses on one technological option for increasing the supply of fresh water to the Southwest-that of building a freshwater subsea pipeline to transport water from Alaska to California. Originally a suggestion by Governor Walter Hickel of Alaska, the proposal has recently attracted attention in southern California.
Date: January 1990
Creator: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Arming Our Allies: Cooperation and Competition in Defense Technology

Description: This Special Report is the frost product of OTA assessment of international collaboration in defense technology. It provides an overview of the subject and analyzes the impact that changes in the environment of defense technology and reduced East-West tensions will exert on defense industrial cooperation and associated alliance relations.
Date: May 1990
Creator: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Beneath the Bottom Line: Agricultural Approaches To Reduce Agrichemical Contamination of Groundwater

Description: The report discusses contamination of the hydrogeological system (a primer), technologies to improve nutrient and pest management, farmer decision-making and technical assistance to reduce agrichemical contamination of groundwater, and public influences on agrichemical contamination of groundwater.
Date: November 1990
Creator: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Beneath the bottom line: agricultural approaches to reduce agrichemical contamination of groundwater

Description: This report discusses the agricultural practices that are contributing to the contamination of groundwater, how to develop alternative practices, it outlines major components of the water quality issues, and describes the integrating and coordinating activities of the respective federal agencies.
Date: December 1990
Creator: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Beneath the bottom line: agricultural approaches to reduce agrichemical contamination of groundwater, part B management

Description: This report discusses the assessment of agrichemicals in ground water in the United States in the late 1970's. A series of recommendations are offered in this report to help solve the problems.
Date: December 1990
Creator: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

The Big Picture: HDTV and High-Resolution Systems

Description: A report on High Definition Television (HDTV. During 1989, HDTV moved from obscurity to center stage in the ongoing debate over the role of the Federal Government in U.S. industrial competitiveness. HDTV and related High-Resolution System (HRS) technologies in the computer and communications sectors may significantly impact U.S. electronics manufacturing, accelerate fundamental restructuring of the U.S. communications infrastructure, and provide a host of valuable services.
Date: June 1990
Creator: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

The CDC's Case Definition of AIDS: Implications of Proposed Revisions

Description: This background paper examines the epidemiologic evidence used by the CDC in deciding to revise the AIDS case definition and the impact the proposed definition will have on surveillance. The paper also explores the logistical consequences and other implications of the revised definition, including its impact on Social Security disability determinations.
Date: June 1990
Creator: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Children's Dental Services Under the Medicaid Program

Description: The report discusses the oral health of children eligible for Medicaid, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and its Subcommittee on Health and the Environment requested OTA to determine whether children eligible for Medicaid are provided at least a minimum level of dental care. This study compares the dental manuals of seven State Medicaid programs with a set of “basic’ dental services (which comprise shared components of various well-accepted dental guidelines) to see if States allow th… more
Date: September 1990
Creator: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Computer Software and Intellectual Property

Description: This background paper examines existing intellectual-property protection for computer software-copyrights, patents, and trade secrets—and provides an overview of the often conflicting views and concerns of various stakeholders. It was prepared in response to a request from the Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Administration of Justice of the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Date: March 1990
Creator: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Confused Minds, Burdened Families: Finding Help for People With Alzheimer's and Other Dementias

Description: This OTA report analyzes the problem of locating and arranging services for people with dementia, presents a framework for an effective system to connect them to appropriate services, and discusses congressional policy options for establishing such a system. One of the main policy issues is whether the system should serve people with dementia exclusively or serve people with other diseases and conditions as well.
Date: July 1990
Creator: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Coping With an Oiled Sea

Description: In the aftermath of the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska in March, 1989, a myriad of investigations were initiated to evaluate the causes of that accident and to propose remedies. The Office of Technology Assessment was asked to study the Nation’s oil spill clean-up capabilities and to assess the technologies for responding to such catastrophic spills in the future.
Date: March 1990
Creator: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

The Costs and Effectiveness of Cervical Cancer Screening in Elderly Women

Description: This paper examines what is known about the course of cervical cancer in elderly women; the effectiveness of the Pap test and its accuracy in this age group; the relative costs and effectiveness of different screening test schedules for elderly women; and the implications of these findings for Medicare.
Date: February 1990
Creator: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Costs and Effectiveness of Colorectal Cancer Screening in the Elderly

Description: In this paper OTA summarizes the evidence on the effectiveness and costs of colorectal cancer screening in the elderly and explores the implications for Medicare of offering this preventive technology as a Medicare benefit. Nowhere are the hard choices between potential medical benefits and high costs illustrated more clearly than with this cancer screening technology.
Date: September 1990
Creator: Wagner, Judith L.; Duffy, Brigitte; Wadhwa, Sandeep & Jakubowski, Lara
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Critical Connections: Communication for the Future

Description: The U.S. communication infrastructure is changing rapidly as a result of technological advances, deregulation, and an economic climate that is increasingly competitive. This change is affecting the way in which information is created, processed, transmitted, and provided to individuals and institutions. The report analyzes the implications of new communication technologies for business, politics, culture, and individuals, and suggests possible strategies and options for congressional considerat… more
Date: February 1990
Creator: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

The Effectiveness of Drug Abuse Treatment: Implications for Controlling AIDS/HIV Infection

Description: This Background Paper examines the evidence of the effectiveness of drug abuse treatment; it also evaluates the role that such treatment might play in reducing the spread of HIV. Because most intravenous drug users are not in treatment, the paper also examines other approaches to HIV prevention among this high-risk group.
Date: September 1990
Creator: Sisk, Jane E.; Hatziandreu, Evridiki J. & Hughes, Rita
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Electronic Bulls and Bears: U.S. Securities Markets and Information Technology

Description: This report responds to requests by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the House Committee on Government Operations to assess the role that communication and information technologies play in the securities markets. The Committee desired a benchmark for gauging progress made toward the national market system envisioned by the 1975 Act. This report assesses the current use of information technology by U.S. securities exchanges and over-the-counter dealers, by related futures and optio… more
Date: September 1990
Creator: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Energy Use and the U.S. Economy

Description: The background paper extends the analysis of energy use into new areas by explicitly looking at how energy use has changed with the expansion of the service sector, the explosion of international trade, and greater complexity of the U.S. economy as the structure of businesses changed in response to new technologies and competitive challenges. The increasing sophistication of the U.S. economy means that the role of energy is less likely to be directly identified and is instead more likely to be … more
Date: June 1990
Creator: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Evaluating Defense Department Research

Description: This paper discusses briefly (1) the purposes of research directed toward support of the defense science and technology base and (2) criteria for judging government-supported, military oriented research portfolios. It will not cover, except tangentially, research into science and technology directed to civilian uses or the more advanced development phase of military weapons and systems.
Date: July 1990
Creator: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Finding the Rx for Managing Medical Wastes

Description: This OTA report was requested by the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, the House Subcommittee on Transportation and Hazardous Materials, Committee on Energy and Commerce, and the House Subcommittee on Regulation, Business Opportunities and Energy, Committee on Small Business. The report evaluates medical waste issues in the broader context of a waste management policy for the Nation. Waste reduction and recycling options for medical waste management, as well as incineration and… more
Date: October 1990
Creator: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Forest Service Planning: Setting Strategic Direction Under RPA

Description: This report evaluates past RPA efforts, reviews the process used by the Forest Service in preparing the 1989 RPA Assessment and the Draft 1990 RPA Program, and identities options for improving RPA’s contribution to long-range planning and to policy and budget deliberations. The second OTA report on Forest Service planning will review national forest planning, and will examine the relationship between national planning under RPA and forest planning under NFMA.
Date: July 1990
Creator: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Genetic Monitoring and Screening in the Workplace

Description: This report describes the issues associated with genetic monitoring and screening in the workplace. It examines the technologies used, analyzes the legal framework for the use of such tests, assesses the ethical issues inherent in the use of these tools in the workplace setting, describes how genetic information is conveyed by a genetic counselor, and, based on an OTA survey of 1,500 U.S. companies and the largest unions, evaluates the current and future use of genetic monitoring and screening … more
Date: October 1990
Creator: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
Back to Top of Screen