This report analyzes the restraints of energy supply, environmental impacts, highway safety, and consumer cost on the further development of the automobile transportation system. It discusses Government initiatives that may be necessary to assure such further development.

An assessment by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) that "analyzes the scientific, regulatory, economic, legal, and ethical considerations involved in alternative technologies in biomedical and behavioral research, toxicity testing, and education" (p. iii).

An assessment by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) of the "activities of the Veterans Administration (VA) regarding device development and procurement," specifically of medical devices (p. iii).

A review by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) of "the recent and proposed activities of the Public Health Service (PHS) in response to AIDS" and an evaluation of "the planning, resources and staffing of PHS's efforts to control AIDS" (p. iii).

A report by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) that "examines four specific areas of research as case studies: computer architecture, artificial intelligence, fiber optics, and software engineering" in light of their new role in the United States economy (p. iii).

Congress amended the Food Security Act of 1985 and directed the Office of Technology Assessment to conduct a comprehensive study of the technologies, institutions, and policies that affect U.S. grain quality and to prepare a comparative analysis of the grain quality systems of major export competitors of the United States. It focuses on the U.S. grain system and possible changes within that system to enhance grain quality.

This report is one of two that the Office of Technology Assessment completed in an assessment of the issues in grain quality for Congress. The first, Enhancing the Quality of U.S. Grain in International Trade, focuses on the U.S. grain system and possible changes within that system to enhance grain quality. To consider this issue fully, it is important to understand the grain systems of major competitors, a subject covered in this report.

This report presents the results of an assessment of a subset of these issues focusing in particular on: the oilfield technology being used to develop the Alaskan North Slope’s oil resources and the likely configuration of that technology as it might be applied in the future to the coastal plain; and the prospects for future North Slope oil production, especially the likelihood that the flow of oil through the Trans Alaskan Pipeline System will suffer a serious decline during the next decade.

This report considers ways to promote the restoration of American leadership in manufacturing technology. Some of the things that most need doing are up to industry— especially in handling people, from managers to engineers to shopfloor workers, and in forming stable, productive relationships between different segments of an industry complex. Government also has a critical role to play.

This report is a comprehensive look at the problem as we now know it, the public concerns about the problem, and DOE’s plans for addressing it. It focuses especially on the need for additional attention to those areas which DOE has neither the capability nor the credibility to handle.

This OTA assessment addresses the effectiveness and costs of selected strategies for promoting and maintaining the health of children and to identify strategies whose implementation could substantially improve children’s health or lower health care costs.

This background paper, OTA sought information and advice from a broad spectrum of knowledgeable individuals and organizations whose contributions are gratefully acknowledged. As with all OTA studies, the content of this background paper is the sole responsibility of the Office of Technology Assessment and does not necessarily represent the views of our advisers and reviewers.

This report discusses the actions necessary to effect a major reduction of United States. carbon dioxide emissions. The U.S. is the world’s leading industrial society and largest single emitter of carbon dioxide. Climate change therefore presents a unique challenge to this Nation. It is a threat that will require major prudent political actions even before all the scientific certainties are resolved. The analysis, prevention, and remediation of global warming will require unprecedented international cooperation and action—an effort requiring actions sustained over decades, not just a few years.

The report addresses five major areas: 1) management of information technology, including strategic planning, innovation, procurement, and the information resources management (IRM) concept; 2) information systems security and computer crime; 3) information technology and decision support; 4) management of government information dissemination; and 5) opportunities for using information technology in conducting congressional oversight.

A report on fuel cell technology is one of the most promising of the new electric power technologies currently undergoing development. Fuel cell power systems have attracted attention because of their potential for high efficiency, low emissions, flexible use of fuels, and quietness. The Federal Government and the private sector have been funding fuel cell R&D for more than 20 years. The state-of-the-art has advanced to the point that fuel cell manufacturers hope to begin marketing fuel cells in just a few years. Full-scale demonstration plants are currently being designed.

A report on medicare coverage of physician services for elderly and disabled. The report also discusses the payment methods that have also fueled increases in expenditures for physician services, which are now one of the most rapidly growing parts of the Federal budget.

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 consideration.

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 concentrates on the problems of displaced blue-collar and nonprofessional white-collar workers. This report gives an overview of Federal programs that provide such services, and evaluates the extent to which both private and public programs are meeting the needs of displaced workers.

This report on proposed performance standards for the Food Stamp Employment and Training Program (FSET) responds to a mandate in the Hunger Prevention Act of 1988 (Public Law 100- 435). This report, then, goes beyond the original mandate and analyzes successful employment and training programs. Based on this analysis, the report identifies several alternative approaches to increasing the impact of FSET.

This report on forest planning evaluates technological, biological, social, economic, and organizational dimensions of national forest planning. It discusses the agency’s planning technologies, the appeals and litigation processes, and the relationship between national planning under Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act (RPA) and forest-level planning under National Forest Management Act (NFMA).

This report focuses on ways to handle the dislocation of workers and communities that is, to some degree, inevitable in the defense cutback. It opens a discussion of how defense technologies might be converted to commercial applications. The second and final report of the assessment will continue that discussion and will concentrate on opportunities to channel human and technological resources into building a stronger civilian economy.

In this report, OTA places testing in its historical and policy context, examines the reasons for testing and the ways it is done, and identifies particular ways Federal policy affects the picture, The report also explores new approaches to testing that derive from modem technology and cognitive research.

This survey was conducted as part of an Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) assessment on medical testing and health insurance that will be published at a later date. OTA is also monitoring AIDS-related developments for the U.S. Congress, and the survey results are being published by OTA as the second in a series of Staff Papers on AIDS-related issues.