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Higher Education for Science and Engineering

Description: This background paper focuses on the end point of educational preparation for science and engineering careers — undergraduate and graduate study. It places the issue of future supply in the broad cultural context of changing demographics, labor market adjustments, and intervention policies.
Date: March 1989
Creator: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment.
open access

Identifying and regulating carcinogens

Description: This background paper was requested by the House Government Operations Committee and its Subcommittee on Intergovernmental Relations and Human Resources. In it, OTA describes policies issued by Federal agencies concerning the identification, assessment, and regulation of carcinogenic chemicals; the chemicals that have been regulated because of carcinogenic risk; the Federal Government’s carcinogenicity testing program; and the results of OTA’s analysis of the extent of agency action on chemical… more
Date: November 1987
Creator: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment.
open access

New Developments in Biotechnology: Public Perceptions of Biotechnology

Description: This background paper is the second in a series of OTA studies being carried out under an assessment of “New Developments in Biotechnology. ” Volume one in the series examined commercialization and ownership of human tissues and cells, and forthcoming reports will include evaluations of: U.S. investment in biotechnology; genetically engineered organisms in the environment; tests for human genetic disorders; and the impact of intellectual property law on biotechnology. The assessment was request… more
Date: May 1987
Creator: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment.
open access

Performance Standards for Secondary School Vocational Education

Description: This Background Paper contains the results of OTA’s analysis. Throughout the study OTA sought and received the assistance of many individuals and organizations in the business, education, and government communities. Their thoughtful contributions and criticisms were invaluable, although their participation does not necessarily reflect their endorsement of the contents of the report, for which OTA bears sole responsibility.
Date: April 1989
Creator: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment.
open access

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.
open access

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.
open access

Space stations and the law: selected legal issues

Description: This report suggests that Congress need not wait for the completion of the current governmental negotiations in order to begin an examination of the legal issues resulting from space station development and operation. In the near term, Congress could: 1) begin to identify those Federal and State laws which already apply to space station activities and those that Congress believes should apply; 2) begin to resolve questions of power sharing between Federal and State laws and Federal and State co… more
Date: August 1986
Creator: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment.
open access

State educational testing practices

Description: This report discusses state educational testing practices. Testing as an indicator of educational attainment is a characteristic of the American educational system. While there are many questions surrounding the use of tests for various purposes, when American public policy turns periodically to focus on public education, tests tend to increase.
Date: December 1984
Creator: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment.
open access

Supercomputers: government plans & policies

Description: This background paper was requested by the House Committee on Science and Technology. Within the past 2 years, there has been a notable expansion in the Federal supercomputer programs and this increase prompted the committee’s request for a review of issues of resource management, networking, and the role of supercomputers in basic research.
Date: March 1986
Creator: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment.
open access

Sustaining Tropical Forest Resources: Reforestation of Degraded Lands

Description: This background paper is designed to provide the U.S. Congress with an overview of some reforestation technologies and their possible beneficial and adverse impacts. It also discusses the constraints and opportunities for the introduction of these technologies in such activities as timber and fuel production, watershed protection, and agroforestry.
Date: May 1983
Creator: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment.
open access

Sustaining Tropical Forest Resources: Reforestation of Degraded Lands

Description: This background paper is designed to provide the U.S. Congress with an overview of some reforestation technologies and their possible beneficial and adverse impacts. It also discusses the constraints and opportunities for the introduction of these technologies in such activities as timber and fuel production, watershed protection, and agroforestry.
Date: May 1983
Creator: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment.
open access

Technologies for underwater archaeology & maritime preservation

Description: This background paper describes and assesses the role of technology in underwater archaeology and historic maritime preservation. As several underwater projects have recently demonstrated, advanced technology, often developed for other uses, plays an increasingly important role in the discovery and recovery of historic shipwrecks and their contents.
Date: September 1987
Creator: United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment.
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