This report includes information on technological products released during FY1994, legislation in the 103rd Congress related to the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA), and background information on OTA itself, among other things.

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 document presents different types of OTA publications by file number.

A technical memorandum by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) intended to help broadly implement Public Law 98-562, which support a renewing of cooperation in space with the U.S.S.R.

A report by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) that analyzes "a range of new electric power generating, storage, and load management technologies" (p. iii).

Papers from a workshop hosted by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) that was dedicated to innovative biological technologies that could be used "to help lesser developed countries (LDCs) enhance the productivity of their soils, reduce their need for costly chemical fertilizers, and increase food supplies" (p. iii).

A case study that "describes medical devices and other technologies used to manage urinary incontinence and reports on the firms that produce such devices" (p. 3).

A report by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) that focuses on high-technology development initiatives in several regions of the United States.

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 paper discusses briefly (1) the purposes of research directed toward support of the defense science and technology base and (2) criteria for judging government-supported, military oriented research portfolios. It will not cover, except tangentially, research into science and technology directed to civilian uses or the more advanced development phase of military weapons and systems.

OTA prepared this report with the assistance of a panel of advisors and reviewers selected for their expertise and diverse points of view on the issues covered by the assessment. These authorities were drawn from academia, industry, and professional societies, as well as Federal, State, and local agencies. They included members of the scientific, law enforcement, forensic, and legal communities. OTA gratefully acknowledges the contribution of each of these individuals; as with all OTA reports, responsibility for the content is OTA’s alone.

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 technologies to improve energy supply in Central Europe and the former Soviet Union. The report is divided into two parts. The first part reviews energy supply technologies for fossil–fuel and nonfossil–based energy resources. In addition, it reviews the environmental consequences of energy production and consumption. The report highlights specific needs for U.S. technology and opportunities for U.S. business. The second part of the report is devoted to policy considerations. It describes the highly varied political, economic, and social context of reform. Next, it analyzes and catalogues Western energy–related assistance and investment programs for the region. The final chapter of the report presents policy options relating to energy supply and efficiency that will promote the achievement of U.S. political and economic goals.

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 the costs and benefits of vehicle retirement programs. With regulation of new vehicles above the 90 percent control level for the major pollutants and scheduled to become even stricter in the near future, emissions from older vehicles have drawn increasing attention.

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 document presents different types of OTA publications by author.

This document presents different types of OTA publications by title.

A case study requested by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) that presents "a brief overview of selected respiratory therapy modalities, including an assessment, drawn from the available medical and scientific literature, of what is known about the efficacy or effectiveness of various respiratory therapy procedures" (p. 3).

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).

A case study by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) that examines the cost effectiveness of and the evidence behind the technology of therapeutic apheresis.

An assessment by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) that "explores the dual relationship between medical technology and the Medicare program: Medicare policies affect the adoption and use of medical technologies, and the patterns and levels of use of medical technologies significantly affect Medicare costs" (p. iii).

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).

A study by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) that examines the costs and effectiveness of nurse practitioners and other types of physician extenders.