Public engagement coming of age: From theory to practice in STS encounters with nanotechnology

Abstract

In this paper, we present a study of Science and Technology Studies (STS) perspectives on public engagement, specifically focusing on the gap between theory and practice. In aiming to develop a conceptual map of this gap, we identify five top topics of tension. These are related to the general questions of: “Why should we do public engagement?,” “Who should be involved?,” “How should it be organised?,” “When should it be done?” and “Where should it be grounded?” We employ nanotechnology as a paradigmatic case to help us explore these tensions. In practice, the choices one makes in relation to one topic of tension may influence the choices available for others. Enhanced awareness of the presence of these tensions, as well as their interconnections, can help build reflexive capacity and make visible the various alternative routes available for STS practitioners working in the “age of engagement.”

Where are the politics in responsible innovation? European governance, technology assessments, and beyond

“…Although the article does not elaborate each of these topics, it may contribute to enhancing awareness among RI practitioners of how several of the above concerns play out in real-world deliberative science and technology spaces. Following Delgado, Kjølberg, and Wickson (2010), 'engagement practices' in science and technology (whether deemed deliberative, participatory or public) always elicit tensions and resistance. In the cases presented in this article, the tensions pertain to how the terms of engagement are set and enacted rather than theorized to occur, the potentially conflicting aims embedded in RI and TA missions and methods, and the ambiguous relationship between deliberative, participatory, and representative modes of 'doing' engagement, among others.…”

The Moral Psychology of Value Sensitive Design: The Methodological Issues of Moral Intuitions for Responsible Innovation

“…This is not only done via consultation with existing literature on what stakeholders value, bit through their direct enrollment. This means that diverse publics and differing epistemic patches are particularly levied in order to more richly enhance the legitimacy and salience of design (Cash et al, 2003;Chilvers, 2007;Delgado, Kjølberg, & Wickson, 2010). Additionally, one of the primary concerns of VSD is that issues arise with the application of technology as a result of the ethical values that society holds related to that application (Timmermans et al, 2011).…”

Speech acts and performances of scientific citizenship: Examining how scientists talk about therapeutic cloning

“…Some examples include Irwin (1995), Irwin and Wynne (1996), Epstein (1996), Collins and Evans (2002), Dietrich and Schibeci (2003), Braun and Schultz (2010) and Delgado et al (2011). 2 Therapeutic cloning is the creation of embryos from cells such as skin cells with the aim of deriving cell lines that immunologically match the patient who donated the skin cells.…”