This technical memorandum concludes that although the technology is available to create a mediasat system, the high cost and current low demand for remotely sensed data will limit media efforts to own and operate a dedicated remote sensing satellite system.

A report on analyzes the reasons behind widely divergent estimates of the costs associated with AIDS. Because of the great variation in methods used, the results are not strictly comparable across studies.

A study by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) that "explores the range of technologies required for exploration and development of offshore energy resources and assesses associated economic factors and financial risks" (p. iii).

An analysis by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) that evaluates "long-term trends in global seaborne trade and maritime technology in relation to the U.S. maritime industry" (p. 3).

A study by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) that "assesses the technical alternatives to continued reliance on southern Africa and the U.S.S.R. for strategic metals" (p. iii).

A collection of papers prepared by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) that "presents a broad range of papers on specific technologies that could benefit both agricultural production and wildlife habitat requirements on private lands" (p. iii).

A case study by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) that presents "a careful description of the current and potential application of DSA (Digital Subtraction Angiography) within the area of diagnostic radiology concerned with cerebrovascular disease and to suggest the implications of the technology for patterns of clinical practice and patient care costs under different assumptions" (p. 3-4).

This assessment analyzes how the Nation’s power systems could accommodate various proposals for competition intended to make the electric power industry more responsive to market forces. Operation of an electric power system is extremely complex, and increased competition could have serious effects on costs and reliability if not implemented carefully. The assessment identifies the technical requirements that must be met to keep the system working well as the level of competition increases, and determines how competitive enterprises could meet these requirements.

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 requested by the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology and the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

This technical memorandum is about problems arising out of success. Recent advances in medical technology have permitted sick children who once would have died to survive with the assistance of sophisticated equipment and intensive nursing care. Often, the assistance is needed for just a short time, but sometimes the dependence on life-sustaining technology is permanent. As technology for helping keep children alive has improved, a new population of technology-dependent children has emerged.

This report illustrates a range of options for congressional action in nine principal areas of public policy related to infertility: collecting data on reproductive health; preventing infertility; information to inform and protect consumers; providing access to infertility services; reproductive health of veterans; transfer of human eggs, sperm, and embryos; recordkeeping; surrogate motherhood; and reproductive research.

This report in the series illustrates a range of options for congressional action in three major areas of public policy related to this application of biotechnology: the criteria for review of planned introductions for potential risk, the administrative mechanisms for applying such review criteria, and the research base supporting planned introductions.

As analytical technology improves, we are discovering dioxins associated with many products commonly found in the home and workplace. This report provides an assessment of these technologies; it does not address the policy issues related to regulating dioxin in paper products and controlling environmental release.

Three major areas are covered in this Staff Paper: 1) a review of the studies of health effects related to passive smoking; 2) a review of current Federal, State and local, and private sector workplace smoking policies; and 3) a discussion of factors to consider in an analysis of the costs and benefits of implementing a workplace smoking policy.

This report is the unclassified version of a classified document delivered to Congress at the end of August 1987. In attempting to reach agreement with the Department of Defense on what information could be included in an unclassified report, OTA found the wheels of bureaucracy to turn very slowly—when they turned at all. Only through the active intervention of the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization, beginning in late in November 1987, and extending to the end of March, 1988, was a partial resolution of the problem achieved.

This report addresses the issues of detection, identification, yield estimation, and evasion to arrive at answers to the two critical questions: 1) Down to what size explosion can underground testing be seismically monitored with high confidence? 2) How accurately can the yields of underground explosions be measured?

The report highlights strategic choices available to Americans as we negotiate a period of major transformation. The choices we make will have profound consequences for the quality of work and the amenities available to Americans and for America’s role of leadership in the free world.

This assessment analyzes the problem of acid deterioration of books and the program underway at the Library of Congress. The program at the Library involves the chemical treatment of books in a unique and effective process that, however, also presents some new engineering and safety concerns. Because of these concerns, the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations requested this independent review of the Library’s system and other available or potential processes.

This report describes the new technologies being used in criminal justice and, as in all of the reports of this series, addresses that delicate balance to be maintained between the national interest and individual rights.

This report discusses the commodity programs that have been developed over the years with the objective to raise farm outcomes.

A case study commissioned by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) that attempts to "advance the state of the art cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) as the technique pertains to disease prevention and health promotion programs," using cervical cancer screening as the object of analysis (Summary).

An assessment by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) that "addresses the recent controversy surrounding the implementation of the environmental protection aspects of the Federal coal leasing program" (p. iii).

A technical memorandum by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) that presents "findings and conclusions regarding the role of the public and private research participants in the PHTME (postharvest technology and marketing economics) research, the benefits and burdens of PHTME research, trends in PHTME research funding, quality of PHTME research, and management of PHTME research in the public sector (p. iii).

An assessment by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) that gives information about high-technology development programs ate state and local levels.