This background paper shows, the implementation of Federal historic preservation laws with respect to historic landscapes lags far behind the effort expended on historic buildings and archaeological sites.

This short background paper summarizes the discussion concerning data pricing and distribution from a one-day workshop convened by OTA on May 20, 1992.

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 focuses on the formal policies and guidelines’ through which health care institutions articulate decision making procedures and identify permissible options regarding the use of life-sustaining treatments for adult patients in their care.

A report on OTA has conducted a study of a wide range of topics, some of which have recently been receiving a great deal of scrutiny inside and outside the government. In order to derive information specific enough to guide possible congressional action and to be responsive to the requesting Committees, this examination of the issues is specifically tied to particular life-sustaining technologies and their use with patients who are elderly. At the same time, much of this information is applicable to life-sustaining technology in general and to citizens of all ages.

A report on exploring the EEZ for its mineral potential is in response to a joint request from the House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries and the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. It examines the current knowledge about the hard mineral resources within the EEZ, explores the economic and security potential of seabed resources, assesses the technologies available to both explore for and mine those resources, identifies issues that face the Congress and the executive branch, and finally presents options to the Congress for dealing with these issues.

This report discusses the medical malpractice system that has frequently been cited as a contributor to increasing health care costs and has been targeted in many health care reform proposals as a potential source of savings. The report first examines the nature of defensive medicine, adopting a working definition of defensive medicine that embraces the complexity of the problem from both the physician and broader public policy perspectives. Finally, it comments on the potential impact of a variety of medical malpractice reforms on the practice of defensive medicine.

This report examines emerging U.S. national security requirements, surveys the current conditions and trends in the DTIB, and proposes some desirable characteristics for the future base. The report concludes with a discussion of the broad strategic choices and tactical decisions that must be considered as the Nation moves to this future base.

This report assesses the factors that facilitate international partnerships in big science projects and those that, conversely, favor the pursuit of purely national projects. The paper also reviews and identifies several important issues to consider in structuring future collaborations.

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.

A report by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) that "compares the international competitiveness of the U.S. steel, electronics, and automobile industries and evaluates prospects for better integration of policies affecting industries in the United States" (p. iii).

This special report is the fourth in a series of OTA studies being carried out under an assessment of “New Developments in Biotechnology, ” requested by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. This fourth report in the series describes the levels and types of investment currently being made by the Federal, State, and private sectors. Ten major issues that affect investment were identified.