Report by the OTA staff development group at the Wye retreat.

This report documents two sets of conclusions: the impact of the information revolution driven by rapid advances in communication and computer technology, and how information technology can improve and enrich education.

In this report: 1) the evidence for the possibility of insect transmission of HIV infection is summarized, and 2) areas for further investigation are identified.

This report deals with the use of computer-based technologies to measure how fast or how accurately employees work. New computer-based office systems are giving employers new ways to supervise job performance and control employees’ use of telephones, but such systems are also controversial because they generate such detailed information about the employees they monitor.

A case study by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) over continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) as a treatment for end-stage renal disease (p. 3).

A report by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) examining the "status of biomedical research and technologies for controlling tropical diseases" (p. iii).

An assessment by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) of the "opportunities and risks involved in an accelerated program of research on new ballistic missile defense technologies, including those that might lead to deployment of weapons in space" (Foreward).

A technical memorandum by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) that "examines the opportunities for the transfer of various energy technologies to China" and also "reviews the motivations for U.S. companies and other institutions for transferring technology and the vehicles for doing so" (p. iii).

A report by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) that "clarifies the policy issues surrounding technology transfer to developing countries, by highlighting tradeoffs among various commercial, political, and development assistance policy goals, and by suggesting options for more consistent policies affecting technology transfer to developing countries" (p. iii).

This report examines developments in the use of computer-based technologies, analyzes key trends in hardware and software development, evaluates the capability of technology to improve learning in many areas, and explores ways to substantially increase student access to technology. The role of the teacher, teachers’ needs for training, and the impact of Federal support for educational technology research and development are reviewed as well.

This technical memorandum explains, the United States has spent relatively little effort in applying them to operations. Just as important as cost saving technologies are appropriate management methods, or strategies, to put these technologies to work. In some cases, OTA has found, cost savings could be achieved by streamlining operations and reducing the burden of documentation and reporting requirements that have slowly expanded over the years.

This report has gathered information on agricultural production throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, looked closely at specific, promising technologies such as agroforestry, small-scale irrigation, soil and water management, and the improved use of animals. As a result, it seems clear that low-resource agriculture has a sizable potential to contribute to increased African food security. Also, it is clear that low-resource agriculture must be enhanced in order to reach its full potential. This report identifies ways that U.S. development assistance can aid this process.

This report contains the results of that analysis. A review of critical intergovernmental issues for the Department of Transportation and State Governments has been added to the basic questions about the adequacy of Federal standards and programs. During the course of the study, it became clear that the report would have to consider how policy is implemented, and consequently, the relationship between the Department of Transportation and the States, which have become important partners in Federal safety programs.

This report identifies U.S. interests in Antarctica and evaluates the Minerals Convention relative to these interests. It examines the status of knowledge about the resources of Antarctica, the potential impacts of minerals development, and the technical, economic, environmental, geological, and political constraints to development in Antarctica.

This memorandum is part of a larger assessment which will address the impact of advanced structural materials on the competitiveness of the U.S. manufacturing sector, and offer policy options for accelerating the commercial utilization of these materials.

This special report is part of a larger OTA project that analyzes the effects of technological change on the structure of the domestic economy, on international trade, and on options for public policy. Home construction’s importance to the study stems from the fact that although housing accounts for over 27 percent of personal spending, ownership of attractive residences remains beyond the reach of many American families.

The special report in this volume was prepared after the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs requested separate publication of OTA’s estimates of the impacts of services trade on the Nation’s balance of payments.

This special report considers the implications of new developments in biological sciences for the freedoms and protections embedded in our Bill of Rights. It is one of a series of publications coming from OTA’s Constitutional Bicentennial Project, begun in 1987 at the request of the House Committee on the Judiciary and its Subcommittee on Courts, Civil Liberties, and the Administration of Justice.

This report responds to a request from the Technology Assessment Board—the congressional oversight body for the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA)–prompted by the balance-of-trade and other economic implications of these events. The report describes the conditions the domestic and world copper industry faced during the early 1980s. It documents the steps U.S. copper companies took to improve their position so dramatically in the mid-980s, and evaluates the industry’s present and possible future status, including relative costs of production and the elements of those costs.

A report on heritable mutations, permanent changes in the genetic material that can be passed on to succeeding generations, are the cause of a large but currently unquantifiable share of embryonic and fetal loss, disease, disability, and early death in the United States today. The methods now available to study heritable mutations, however, offer relatively little information about the kinds of mutations that can occur, their frequency, or their causes.

This report presents the primary findings of an assessment requested by the House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. The Subcommittee on Public Lands is carrying out a major review of how Federal agencies implement Federal preservation policy. This assessment directly supports the Committee’s review by showing how the uses of certain methods, techniques, as well as tools and equipment can assist Federal, State, and local preservation efforts.

A catalog of Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) documents published through 1985.

This paper describes the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) and its relationship with Congress in developing technology-related policy.

This report discusses the history and function of the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) and how, by the year of publication, the OTA had become very beneficial to Members of the U.S. Congress.