This report has two primary goals. One objective is to provide provocative ideas on how emerging forces external to education may shape the future of distance learning. The second purpose is to depict a potential new field, technology-mediated interactive learning, that may result from synthesis of distance learning, cooperative learning, and computer-supported cooperative work.

This report the transplantation of adrenal medullary tissue to the nervous system.

This report addresses several basic question about China's military-industrial complex to help provide a framework that policy maker can use in evaluating the likely effects of dual use transfers on Chinese military capability, and the attendant national security risks to the US.

This report discusses the processing of titanium and associated heavy minerals, the general explorations of offshore deposits, and offshore titanium heavy minerals production scenarios.

The topic of this fourth paper in OTA’S series of AIDS-related issues is the impact of the AIDS epidemic on the Kaiser Permanence Medical Care Program’s (KPMCP) northern California region and was originally commissioned for OTA’s assessment of Medical Testing and Health Insurance. Key OTA staff involved in the oversight of the project were Jill Eden, Larry Miike, and Laurie Mount.

This report discusses the frequency and timing of recommended child visits, and the frequency and timing of recommended screening tests or procedures in well child care.

This report offers different sources of data regarding different forms of dementia, as well as illustrations and applications in a different settings.

This report describes a study which purpose is to address the question of whether certain types of educational institutions are more effective than others in producing baccalaureates who continue on to earn a science/engineering (S/E) Ph.D., and subsequently enter the S/E work force as well as pursue research careers.

This report discusses the Chinese satellites and launch capabilities, China's international satellite connection, and the present status and future goals to China's space communications.

This report discusses the work electronic monitoring of employee performance. It considers the personal privacy issue and the potential influence on worker stress and health.

This report presents the results of a survey concerning state transmission line certification and sitting procedures, and state energy planning processes.

This report estimates the impact on state and local governments of four possible changes in federal financing for public works.

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 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.

The report includes discussions of political, economic, environmental, and energy-related factors that affected both the 1968 leasing attempt and its successor—the current Prototype Program. The Program’s goals are identified, and its progress and status are examined to determine if those goals have been met or are likely to be met in the foreseeable future.

This report assesses the proposals and prospects for automated checks, ranging from the point-of-sale “instant” check now used by the State of Virginia, to the establishment of a computerized national felons file, to live scanning of fingerprints, or the issuance of ‘smart’ cards to identify firearm purchasers. It considers the benefits, costs, and risks of automated checks. The report examines the relationship between automated record checks and waiting periods, the wide variability in State criminal record systems, and the challenges of improving the automation and quality of record systems.

This report on urban ozone was requested by the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and its Subcommittee on Health and the Environment in anticipation of the upcoming reauthorization of the Clean Air Act. Of the air pollutants that the Act covers, ozone has been the most difficult to bring under control; it may well be the most expensive.

This background paper reviews the status of the major sectors of the maritime industry engaged in EEZ activities and notes the significant trends. Basic data on the major sectors were first prepared for OTA by the Maritime Administration. OTA then conducted a survey of industry and other interested parties and prepared the analyses in the paper.

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.

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 paper examines dichotomous designations used to define rural and urban areas and discusses how they are applied in certain Federal programs. In addition, several topologies are described that are useful in showing the diversity that exists within rural areas.

A technical memorandum by the Office of Technology Assessment that evaluates the results of Diagnosis Related Groups and "their implications for use in the Medicare program" (p. iii).

This background paper reviews the progress of the industry and the law enforcement agencies in implementing the Act since its approval in October 1994.

An assessment by the Office of Technology Assessment that examines the "energy potential of various sources of plant and animal matter (biomass)," giving an analysis of "prominent biomass issues, summaries of four biomass fuel cycles, a description of biomass' place in two plausible energy futures, and discussions of policy options for promoting energy from biomass" (p. iii).