This is a quarterly report detailing the budget and progress of the Office of Technology Assessment.

This is a quarterly report detailing the budget and progress of the Office of Technology Assessment.

This is a quarterly report detailing the budget and progress of the Office of Technology Assessment.

This report discusses the history and function of the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) as it stood in November 1989, focusing on the benefit of the OTA's function as a practical analysis tool concerning technological issues.

This is a quarterly report detailing the budget and progress of the Office of Technology Assessment.

This report contains justification for the Office of Technology Assessment's (OTA) estimated FY1991 budget request.

Indexing document by file number.

This quarterly report includes formal assessments, technical memoranda, background papers, testimony, staff papers, and administrative documents for the Technology Assessment Board.

This document describes a computerized database for OTA collection called index QuOTAtion.

A report on Advanced Vehicle/Highway Systems (AVHS),as an umbrella term for several interdependent vehicle and road technologies, that offers potential for reducing congestion and the air pollution it engenders, and for improving highway safety.

This background paper describes and examines a launch vehicle concept commonly known as the “Big Dumb Booster,” a concept that derives from efforts first made in the 1960s to minimize costs of space launch systems. Some launch system analysts believe that the use of this concept, when applied to existing technology, could markedly reduce space transportation costs. Other analysts disagree.

This background report responds to a request by the Subcommittee on Water and Power Resources of the House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. The subcommittee asked that OTA review the health effects of high-voltage transmission lines. To provide background information for its assessment on electric power wheeling, OTA contracted with the Carnegie-Mellon University.

This report addresses several questions regarding the dissemination of scientific and technical information (STI). The paper answers these questions within a framework for an overall strategy on STI dissemination, and identifies key elements that could be useful in such a strategy.

This background paper explores key issues concerning the Federal role in supporting national high performance computing facilities and in developing a national research and education network.

This background paper focuses on the end point of educational preparation for science and engineering careers — undergraduate and graduate study. It places the issue of future supply in the broad cultural context of changing demographics, labor market adjustments, and intervention policies.

This Background Paper contains the results of OTA’s analysis. Throughout the study OTA sought and received the assistance of many individuals and organizations in the business, education, and government communities. Their thoughtful contributions and criticisms were invaluable, although their participation does not necessarily reflect their endorsement of the contents of the report, for which OTA bears sole responsibility.

This special report contains the results of OTA’s assessment. It also provides an admirable example of cooperative effort on the part of all segments of the aviation community in providing information to OTA and working to develop a common solution for a number of difficult issues.

The background paper does not attempt to provide a comprehensive critique of national statistics and does not introduce new research designed to solve the technical problems. It is, instead, designed to show how defects in the existing statistical system can limit our understanding of key economic issues and to demonstrate the ways that better management and coordination of America’s statistical agencies can lead to concrete improvements.

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.

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 discusses options for a national policy based on the dual strategies of MSW prevention and better management. It also presents options to address immediate problems such as increased interstate shipments of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) and unfinished Federal guidelines for landfills and incinerators.

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 examines the management of DoD technology base programs and laboratories. It also analyzes the process through which technology is introduced into defense systems, in order to understand why it takes so long and what might be done to speed the process up. Finally, this report examines the exploitation of civilian commercial sector technology for defense needs. It concentrates on the dual questions of expediting military access to civilian technology and keeping the necessary base of technology alive and well in the United States.

This report discusses the development of telecommunications technologies and the study of distance learning. OTA was asked to analyze various technological options, examine current development, and identify how Federal, State and local policies could encourage more efficient and effective use.