An assessment by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) of the construction industry and technology that is reshaping the industry and what impacts these technologies might have.

This assessment of ocean incineration includes consideration of the adequacy of regulations; risks to human health and the marine environment relative to the risks of comparable activities; existing and emerging alternatives; the capabilities and limitations of ocean incineration in managing hazardous wastes; and how its use might affect efforts to develop superior waste treatment and reduction practices. Particular attention is addressed to areas of intense public concern over the use of this technology.

An assessment by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) that assesses the potential of the solar power satellite (SPS) as a source of energy, looking at four alternative SPS systems and at their "technical characteristics, long-term energy supply potential, international and military implications, environmental impacts, and institutional effects" (p. iii).

A technical memorandum by the Office of Technical Assessment (OTA) that reviews the quality and relevance of activities at GML (Gorgas Memorial Laboratory), based on Gorgas' publishing record, an OTA-commissioned survey of GML's scientific reputation, a critical review of recent articles and current manuscripts, a comparison of GML's areas of effort with health problems in tropical America and with scientific opportunity, and a review of past scientific evaluations of GML (p. iii).

A background paper by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) that brings together "the literature and current views about the actual and potential role of RCTS (randomized clinical trials) in decisionmaking about medical technologies" (Preface).

A study by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) that "examines present conditions and future needs of the Nation's airports, with emphasis on possible solutions to problems of operational capacity and air travel delay" (p. iii).

A case study by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) that examines "the evidence on variations in lengths of hospital stay and their relation to health outcomes" (p. 3).

An assessment by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) that "surveys the contribution of the forest products industry to the U.S. economy, the ability of the industry and the U.S. forest resource to satisfy expected domestic demands for wood, the competitiveness of U.S. Forest products on world markets, and the role of technology in stretching the U.S. forest resource and providing products that satisfy domestic needs as well as international markets" (p. iii).

An assessment by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) of "the Nation's ability to use models more efficiently and effectively analyze and solve our water resource problems" (p. iii).

A report by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) that "examines the potential financial and managerial barriers to carrying out-at some future date-a large-scale program to create a new high-speed, long-range commercial air transport employing new technology" (p. iii).

A report by the Office of Technology Assessment that "describes the major processes degrading land productivity, assesses whether productivity is sustaining using current agricultural technologies, reviews a range of new technologies with potentials to maintain productivity and profitability simultaneously, and presents a series of options for congressional consideration" (p. iii).

A study by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) that looks at how "advances in technology and increased competition in the communications marketplace will significantly affect USPS finances, service levels, and labor force requirements over the next two decades" (p. xi).

A report by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) that examines the January 1982 plan by the National Airspace System (NAS), which "attempts to integrate the various improvements into a single long-range program that addresses major shortcomings and reduces costs of the current system" (p. 3).

A report by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) that "examines the relationships between patent-term extension and pharmaceutical innovation," paying special attention to social implications of patent-term extension (p. iii).

A study by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) that looks at the cost effectiveness and policies of neonatal intensive care.

A report by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) that analyzes the "feasibility, implications, and usefulness of cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit analysis in health care decisionmaking" (p. iii).

Proceedings from a conference that covers the topics "1) the effects of cargo policies now in force; 2) the status of new policies under consideration by the United States and its various trading partners; and 3) costs and benefits of existing, proposed and alternative policies" (p. iii)

A report by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) that "examines the record of assistance to nine nations of the Sahel in West Africa, explores the lessons learned in a decade of efforts, and suggests policy implications for more effective U.S. assistance there and elsewhere in Africa" (p. iii).

Tests to identify individuals who are likely to develop serious diseases are being rapidly developed. Some of these tests are directed at diseases for which there are presently no known therapies, thereby raising questions over the social consequences of identifying susceptible persons. This assessment examines existing and developing medical tests and their current and potential uses by health insurers and employers.

This special report examines a wide range of potential improvements to the Space Shuttle, explores the future of space transportation for humans, and presents policy options for congressional consideration. It is one of a series of products from abroad assessment of space transportation technologies undertaken by OTA, requested by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.

This background paper presents the results of a study of physician and sperm bank practice of artificial insemination in the United States. It documents the number of women undergoing artificial insemination each year, the annual cost, medical and social screening criteria for women seeking artificial insemination and men who donate semen, the genealogical recordkeeping available to the resulting children, and physician attitudes toward possible changes in artificial insemination practice.

This report suggests that Congress need not wait for the completion of the current governmental negotiations in order to begin an examination of the legal issues resulting from space station development and operation. In the near term, Congress could: 1) begin to identify those Federal and State laws which already apply to space station activities and those that Congress believes should apply; 2) begin to resolve questions of power sharing between Federal and State laws and Federal and State courts as they relate to space station activities; and 3) monitor the space station negotiations to ensure that the final space station agreements protect the fundamental rights and interests of U.S. citizens and support U.S. policies, including those related to commercial activities in space.

This report discusses benefit-based charges that have become an increasingly popular mans to generate funds for operating and capital costs of public works.

This report considers the implications of industrial funding of research and training for the way in which universities train new scientists during this period of "steady state."