This report discusses climate change that poses many potential problems for human and natural systems, and the long-term effects of climate change on these systems are becoming increasingly important in public policy.
This is the OTAs second report on climate change. OTA examines how the Nation can best prepare for an uncertain future climate. This assessment tackles the difficult tasks of assessing how natural and human systems may be affected by climate change and of evaluating the tools at our disposal to ease adaptation to a warmer climate.
This report presents the papers presented at the OTA 20th Anniversary Forum on Technology and Governance in the 1990s. The report discusses five papers presented that day.
This report describes what nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons can do, analyzes the consequences of their spread for the United States and the world, and summarizes technical aspects of monitoring and controlling their production. This report also explains the array of policy tools that can be used to combat proliferation, identifying tradeoffs and choices that confront policymakers.
This report analyzes the implications of computerized medical information and the challenges it brings to individual privacy. The report examines: 1) the nature of the privacy interest in health care information and the current state of the law protecting that information; 2) the nature of proposals to computerize health care information and the technologies available to both computerize and protect privacy in the information; and 3) models for protection of health care information.
This report is a case study which points to an alternative that benefits both workers and the firm. In this report OTA finds that the Home and Personal Services Division of U S WEST, Inc. has increased revenues, eliminated unnecessary work, and improved customer service.
This paper reviews the technical requirements for countries to develop and build nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons, along with the systems most capable of delivering these weapons to distant or defended targets: ballistic missiles, combat aircraft, and cruise missiles.
This paper examined the technologies and issues to be considered at World Administrative Radio Conference (WARC)-92, discusses the international and domestic context for WARC-93 preparations, and analyzed the U.S. process of conference preparation.
Background paper exploring the multifaceted challenge of integrating a private, primarily civil industry into the global arms-control regime established by the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).
This report synthesizes current understanding of tuberculosis (TB) in the United States, including the extent of the disease, the state of research of new preventive, diagnostic, and therapeutic technologies to aid in its control, and the delivery of effective TB services. The report also provides an overview of Federal involvement in these activities.
This report examines issues related to the development and operation of publicly funded U.S. and foreign civilian remote sensing systems. It also explores the military and intelligence use of data gathered by civilian satellites. In addition, the report examines the outlook for privately funded and operated remote sensing systems.
This report discusses on telecommunications entering European markets as not just a set of tradable services, but also a basic function of society, essential for effective governance social cohesion, and economic viability’ and equity.
This report describes the Federal Government’s research activities that are intended to improve health risk assessments. One of the findings of this Report is that the attention and resources allotted to health risk assessment research are not commensurate with its national impact.
This report examines the following: the outlook for safety management and economic life decisions for the Nation’s existing nuclear power plants as they age, the prospects for decommissioning, and current and potential Federal efforts that could contribute to more timely and better informed decisions regarding plant life and decommissioning.
This paper contains glossaries of terms and abbreviations compiled from selected reports issued between 1987 and 1992 by the Health Program and the Biological and Behavioral Sciences Program of the Office of Technology Assessment.
This report discusses the earth data—positional, topographic, climatological, meteorological, man–made features, and changes over time in all of these, which are increasingly important to the military. Data from these systems are bought and extensively used by the military and intelligence communities. The need to integrate data from military-unique systems as well only complicates the situation.
This paper provides a detailed look at the State that is often considered a model for what States can do to help provide universal or near universal health insurance coverage for their residents. The paper discusses the history of health insurance provision in Hawaii, emphasizing two relatively recent State insurance laws: 1) the 1974 law that required employers to offer coverage to most of their employees, and 2) the 1989 law that provided a State subsidy for coverage of those individuals who fell in the gap between employment-based coverage and Medicaid coverage. The paper addresses the difficulties faced in evaluating the impact of Hawaii’s various attempts to provide coverage and access, and speaks to whether all or parts of Hawaii’s experience can be transferred to other States or to the Nation as a whole.
This report focuses on the process of Federal Domestic Technology Transfer and the organizations and mechanisms that foster this process. It discusses the barriers in detail, and discusses options for improving the process including the case for a centralized, user friendly, information system.
This report focuses mainly on the economic side of the R&D process. Pharmaceutical R&D is an investment, and the principal characteristic of an investment is that money is spent today in the hopes of generating even more money in the future.
This report reviews how bioenergy crops could potentially affect soil quality and soil erosion, water quality, air quality, habitat for a variety of species, and the global environment.
The paper begins with a survey of recent developments in networked information resources and tools to identify, navigate, and use such resources. The paper then discusses the changing legal framework that governs use of electronic information as contract law rather than simple sale within the context of copyright law becomes the dominant model for acquiring access to electronic information.
This report focuses on key topics and issues that are central to the successful use of electronic deli very by government. This report provides Congress with alternative strategies for improving the performance of government by using modern information technologies.
This report discusses the problem of fratricide, or “friendly fire” casualties among combat units. The House Armed Services Committee requested that OTA assess the technology and techniques available to reduce this tragic loss of life.
This report is part of a process leading to regulations to be issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation. This process has included a review of a draft of this study by the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (ATBCB).
Adult education needs are difficult to define and difficult to meet; what constitutes adequate literacy changes continually as the demands facing individuals grow more complex. This report is an attempt to identify those capabilities, along with limitations, and outline how new information technologies can be marshaled to meet the goal of a fully literate citizenry.
This background paper analyzes technologies for tomorrow’s information superhighways. Advanced networks will first be used to support scientists in their work, linking researchers to supercomputers, databases, and scientific instruments. The paper also describes six test networks that are being funded as part of the High Performance Computing and Communications Program.
This report identifies opportunities for and constraints to reducing Andean coca production through: 1) improving U.S. alternative development efforts and 2) applying biological control technology (bio-control) to eradicate illegally produced coca.
This report reviews numerous analyses of the economic impacts of the major approaches to health care reform addressed in this Report-Single Payer, Play-or-Pay, Individual Vouchers or Tax Credits, and Managed Competition and identifies some of the key issues and significant assumptions behind the estimates provided in these analyses.
This document is a program from the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) Forum on Technology and Governance in the 1990s, held on January 27, 1993. The program includes a schedule of events and biographical information on each of the forum speakers.
This document presents the findings of the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) staff assessment of policy analysis that took place in 1992. It consisted of reviewing 18 sample OTA reports and soliciting opinions about OTA's policy analysis from outside observers. This report presents the findings of this assessment, along with options for OTA management and suggestions for OTA project directors.
This report contains discussion about project domestic and international issues in the 1990s, including arms reduction, the environment, the U.S. economy, health care, and education, with respect to technological issues that the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) works with Congress to develop and understand.
This is the OTAs second report on climate change. OTA examines how the Nation can best prepare for an uncertain future climate. This assessment tackles the difficult tasks of assessing how natural and human systems may be affected by climate change and of evaluating the tools at our disposal to ease adaptation to a warmer climate.
This report discusses the role of radio technologies and services in our daily lives. The report elaborates on the outcomes and implications for U.S. radio technology, and the next steps and lessons for the future.
This report discusses the pharmaceutical labeling requirements imposed on U.S.-based companies by the laws of the United States and the barriers to U.S. regulation of their labeling in other countries.
This report focuses on the improvement of energy efficiency. It reviews how energy is used in the former centrally planned economies. Then it analyzes the potential effectiveness of modern technology in reducing energy waste and the factors that constrain improvements. The report also examines government programs assisting energy efficiency technology transfer and opportunities for U.S. businesses. Finally, it discusses congressional policy options to support technology transfer.
This report focuses on the opportunities for advancing the energy efficiency of the U.S. economy through technology improvements and institutional change in the electric utility sector. In particular, the report examines the prospects for energy savings through expansion of utility demand-side management and integrated resource planning programs and related Federal policy options.
This paper describes a number of suggestions to improve the value of the USGCRP to both scientists and policymakers. The report observes that the USGCRP is focused narrowly on climate change. As a result, USGCRP may not be able to provide decision makers and natural resource managers with the information they will need to respond to other aspects of global change, The background paper also explicates the continuing debate over whether the sensors and satellites planned by USGCRP: 1) will be able to acquire data in sufficient detail to elucidate the mechanisms responsible for global change; 2) are appropriate for long-term monitoring of key indices of global change.
This report discusses the assessment of non-indigenous-species (NIS), and has three focal points: the status of harmful NIS in the United States; technological issues regarding decision making and species management; and institutional and policy frameworks. Each chapter elaborates on the findings summarized here and contains additional examples of problem species and their locations.
This paper concludes that, thus far, Department of Energy has (DOE) and its contractors have devoted little attention to cleanup worker health and safety. They have not convinced workers and managers that a “new culture” of accountability in environment, safety, and health is truly ascendent.
This report discusses the indirect cost of medical malpractice, commonly referred to as “defensive medicine,” that may add to overall health care costs. The cost of defensive medicine remains unknown and is subject to much speculation because there are no sound empirical data.
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