Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society current issue

The Fate of Equality in a Technological Civilization

Stivers, R. — 2008-09-08

The meaning of equality has been radically altered since the Enlightenment. In the 18th century, equality acquired political and economic meanings specifically in the contexts of democracy and capitalism. Today, the context in which equality is understood and practiced is technology as our most immediate and compelling environment. Moreover, the reality of equality contradicts the ideology of equality within this technological context: The ideology of equality as pluralism and cultural and communicative equality is contradicted by the reality of group conformity and group competition on the one hand and uniformity on the other hand.

Co-creating Nano-imaginaries: Report of a Delphi-Exercise

Deblonde, M., Van Oudheusden, M., Evers, J., Goorden, L. — 2008-09-08

In the first phase of the research project Nanotechnologies for Tomorrow's Society (www.nanosoc.be), the research consortium explored a variety of futuristic visions or technoscientific imaginaries. This exploration took the form of a Policy Delphi, adapted to the particular objective of jointly constructing nano-imaginaries, taking participants' personal visions of possible future applications and societal issues as a starting point. The participants were nanoresearchers, as well as societal experts and primary involved citizens. In this article, the authors describe the theoretical frame that inspired their methodological approach, present the analytical results obtained, and bring some reflections to the fore that arose as a result of the performance and analysis of this Delphi-exercise.

Nanotech's History: An Interesting, Interdisciplinary, Ideological Split

Shew, A. — 2008-09-08

Nanotechnology is viewed by those in favor of its development in two different ways, and the divide is not recent. This article describes the origins of the differing visions of nanotechnology and examines their broader impacts. The typical history of the field tells nothing about these differing visions, which perhaps misleads. At least two distinct camps among scientists and engineers pursue work on the nanoscale, but they rarely interact, and when they do, they get nowhere. This article looks first at definitional issues in the field; then turns to the common history of nanotechnology, the history's shortcomings, and one particular episode that highlights the divide; and then examines the broader impacts of this dispute. The divide among those interested in nanotech tells something about the way different groups of people see technology and the application of science. This historical review clarifies controversy over societal issues and terminology in nanotechnology.

Nanotechnology and the Developing World: Lab-on-Chip Technology for Health and Environmental Applications

Mehta, M. D. — 2008-09-08

This article argues that advances in nanotechnology in general, and lab-on-chip technology in particular, have the potential to benefit the developing world in its quest to control risks to human health and the environment. Based on the "risk society" thesis of Ulrich Beck, it is argued that the developed world must realign its science and technology policy priorities to meet some of the most pressing needs of humanity.

Issues in Survey Assessments of STS Courses

Mack, P. E., Campbell, T., Hashidah Abd-Hamid, N. — 2008-09-08

This study presents the circuitous route taken in an attempt to identify an assessment mechanism for evaluating the impact of STS courses. After initially developing a survey that faculty felt only allowed for the measurement of student opinions about the impact of required STS general education courses, the faculty at Clemson University identified Aikenhead and Ryan's Views on Science-Technology-Society (VOSTS) as an instrument that, when used with the scoring guide created in this project, might be able to assess the sophistication of students views about science and technology in society. The results from administering the pre- and post-VOSTS surveys in one STS course revealed no significant differences when comparing the sophistication of students' views about STS before and after the course. These findings demonstrate that, among other considerations discussed in the manuscript, it will be difficult to find a way of assessing STS courses that can be used for the diverse courses meeting the requirement.

A Network Model of Expertise

Nunn, R. — 2008-09-08

In this article, the author proposes a dynamic, interdisciplinary, network conception of expertise that differs from conventional static, linear conceptions. Using a range of graphic images, the author propose specific visualizations of this network conception of expertise. First, he discusses attempts to pin expertise down in a definition. Then he considers the network of notions from which expertise emerges. The author briefly describes representative nodes in the network, such as experience and excellence. He concludes with the view that there is no need to compromise the many existing conceptions of expertise by forcing them into a false common ground. Instead, he shows that existing accounts of expertise can be better understood by viewing them as connected parts of a complex network.

Reviews: Book Notes

2008-09-08