This paper analyzes the study of the public perception of biotechnology, comparing different studies made on the European and the Spanish national levels. It aims at testing the applicability of these kinds of studies, and describes some of their limits. The analysis shows clear ambivalence in the public response to distinct applications of this technology, pointing out the crucial differences between general moral valuation and attitude towards specific products. Taking into account this difference appears fundamental for the design of future perception studies able to more accurately reflect public understanding.

In this article we argue that the precautionary principle, as applied to the regulation of science and technology, cannot be considered in any general manner inconsistent with the norms and methods of scientific knowledge generation and justification. Moreover, it does not necessarily curtail scientific-technological innovation. Our argument flows from a differentiated view of what precaution in regulation means. We first characterize several of the most relevant interpretations given to the precautionary principle in academic debate and regulatory practice. We then use examples of actual precaution-based regulation to show that, even though science can have varying functions in different circumstances and frames, all of those interpretations recur to scientific method and knowledge, and tend to imply innovation in methods, products, and processes. In fact, the interplay of regulation and innovation in precautionary policy, at least in the case of the interpretations of precaution that our analysis takes into account, could be understood as a way of reconciling the two fundamental science and technology policy functions of promotion and control.

This article presents the results of a study of public perception recently completed in Spain which questioned citizens about their views on the precautionary principle, the role of science in policy making, as well as their level of trust in science. The results show that Spanish citizens, by a significant margin, consider that scientists may be influenced by economic interests, that values play a key role in policy making, and that policy should be guided by precaution. Two groups were identified, one with a moderate and the other one with a more stringent interpretation of precaution. The results indicate that public policies that do not sufficiently take into account precaution and exclude values from decision making are likely to encounter resistance among many citizens.

This paper analyses a participatory process related to the plan to construct an offshore wind farm in the Sea of Trafalgar, off the coast of Cádiz, in Andalucía (southern Spain). This case study shows the complexities of public participation in energy development, indicating the vital importance of context. The stakeholders' values and attitudes in the controversy are highly dependent on the specific situation, including the concrete characteristics of the project proposal. In fact, they may diverge sharply from the stakeholders' core beliefs. It is important for decision making to take account of this contextual and dynamic element in stakeholder behavior, contrary to suppositions of static and predetermined behavior. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

This paper proposes a typology of two fundamentally opposing conceptualizations of managing technology under uncertainty: 'technology governability' and 'technology selection'. A wide variety of different versions of these idealized conceptualizations can be shown to underlie the controversies about scientifictechnological development. The example of genetic engineering indicates that such points of view are reconstructed over time in different forms and diverse settings, not only by the scientific community or during regulatory decision making, but by a rather wide-reaching spectrum of social actors. Thus, the current efforts to open up science and technology decision making to a wider range of participants is interpreted here as an effort of generating a new social contract for technology management, by way of bridging the differences between the two opposing conceptualizations.