Science And Technology Studies (Science And Technology Studies)
How does knowledge relate to political action?
Co-authored with Nico Stehr, 2012. Innovation: The European Journal of Social Science Research 25(1)
In this paper we investigate the relation between knowledge and political action, focusing on knowledge claims... more In this paper we investigate the relation between knowledge and political action, focusing on knowledge claims stemming from science that at the same time have relevance in a policy context. In so doing, we will revisit some well-known and some lesser known approaches, such as C.P. Snow’s thesis of the two cultures and Mannheim’s conceptualization of theory and practice. We arrive at a distinction between knowledge for practice and practical knowledge, which we briefly apply to the case of climate change science and policy. We state as our thesis that policy is ever more reliant on knowledge, but science can deliver ever less certainty. Political decisions and programs have to recognize this fact, either implicitly or explicitly. This creates a paradox that is normally resolved through the political decision and not the dissemination of ‘‘truth’’ in the sense of uncontested knowledge. We use the case of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change as an example.
DownloadIntroduction: Material Worlds: Intersections of Law, Science, Technology and Society
Co-authored with Alex Faulkner and Bettina Lange
Diffracting the Rays of Technoscience
published in "Poiesis and Praxis", Springer Verlag, 8, 2011, pp. 151-167.
The 'Science' of Fair Play: Gender and the Politics of Testing
Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, forthcoming
Image and Practice: Visualisation in Computational Fluid Dynamics Research
by Matt Spencer
Forthcoming in Interdisciplinary Science Reviews, 37.1 (March 2012)
Publication Visibility of Sensitive Public Health Data: When Scientists Bury their Results
by David Rier
Science and Engineering Ethics 10:597-613; 2004
What happens when the scientific tradition of openness clashes with potential societal risks? The work of... more
What happens when the scientific tradition of openness clashes with potential societal risks? The work of American toxic-exposure epidemiologists can attract media coverage and lead the public to change health practices, initiate lawsuits, or take other steps a study’s authors might consider unwarranted. This paper, reporting data from 61 semi-structured interviews with U.S. toxic-exposure epidemiologists, examines whether such possibilities shaped epidemiologists’ selection of journals for potentially-sensitive papers. Respondents manifested strong support for the norm of scientific openness, but a significant minority had or would/might, given the right circumstances, publish sensitive data in less-visible journals, so as to prevent unwanted media or public attention. Often, even those advocating such limited “burial” upheld openness, claiming that less-visible publication allowed them to avoid totally withholding the data from publication. However, 15% of the sample had or would, for the most sensitive types of data, withhold publication altogether. Rather than respondents explaining their actions in terms of an expected split between “pure science” and “social advocacy” models, even those publishing in the more-visible journals often described their actions in terms of their “responsibility”. Several practical limitations (particularly involving broader access to scientific literature via the Internet) of the strategy of burial are discussed, and some recommendations are offered for scientists, the media, and the public.
KEYWORDS: Publication; scientist; responsibility; ethics; epidemiology
Technologies of ironic revelation: enacting consumers in neuromarkets
(2012) Consumption, Markets & Culture, online first: DOI:10.1080/10253866.2012.654959 (with S. Woolgar)
Neuroscience is increasingly considered a possible basis for new business and management practices. A prominent... more Neuroscience is increasingly considered a possible basis for new business and management practices. A prominent example of this trend is neuromarketing – a relatively new form of market and consumer research that applies neuroscience to marketing by employing brain imaging or measurement technology to anticipate consumers’ response to, for instance, products, packaging or advertising. In this paper, we draw attention to the ways in which certain neuromarketing technologies simultaneously reveal and enact a particular version of the consumer. The revelation is ironic in the sense that it entails the construction of a contrast between what appears to be the case – consumers’ accounts of why they prefer certain products over others – and what can be shown to be the case as a result of the application of the technology – the hidden or concealed truth. This contrast structure characterises much of the academic and popular literature on neuromarketing, and helps explain the distribution of accountability relations associated with assessments of its effectiveness.
Publication and Controversy in Epidemiology: Investigators' Publication Decisions
by David Rier
Ph.D. dissertation, Columbia Unviersity, 1995.
Handling Risky Knowledge: Gender and Scientific Risk-taking
by David Rier
Journal of Men’s Health and Gender 2:364-68; 2005.
Like the practice of clinical medicine, medical research and the knowledge it generates involve their own risks. This... more
Like the practice of clinical medicine, medical research and the knowledge it generates involve their own risks. This paper examines various societal and career risks of working with certain types of medical knowledge, and discusses empirical research on gender and risk-taking in science. It considers the questions this literature raises regarding decision-making about risky knowledge, as women increasingly enter new roles as researchers, consultants, regulators, and bureaucrats in science and medicine. In particular, it focuses on the relative hesitance of women scientists to take risks in their careers, and asks whether this predicts how they will handle risky knowledge as they enter new positions of decision-making authority in science and medicine. Limitations in existing data preclude firm predictions, but the paper sets out numerous questions for further study.
Keywords: Gender; risk-taking; scientific knowledge; medical research; policy-making
Audience, Consequence, and Journal Selection in Toxic-exposure Epidemiology
by David Rier
Social Science & Medicine 59(7):1541-46; 2004.
Even preliminary toxic-exposure epidemiology papers can spark "media scares" and questionable reactions... more
Even preliminary toxic-exposure epidemiology papers can spark "media scares" and questionable reactions amongst the public. Concerns for the social consequences of publication can lead epidemiologists--despite the advantages of visible publication--to choose a more obscure outlet for potentially sensitive studies. Interviews with 61 U.S. toxic-exposure epidemiologists indicate that investigators generally sought visible journals to transmit their work to the widest relevant audience. Yet up to 36%-46% of this sample sometimes have sought or would seek to keep their research from a public who, they feared, might misuse their results. Implications for the boundaries between science and society (including evidence of hidden scientific activism and ‘‘inert’’ public activism) are discussed, and six hypotheses for further research are proposed.
KEYWORDS: Epidemiology; publication; scientific responsibility; media; toxic exposure
Work Setting, Publication, and Scientific Responsibility
by David Rier
Science Communication 24:420-57; 2003
Semi-structured interviews (n=61) with toxic-exposure epidemiologists indicate that those in government settings (CDC,... more
Semi-structured interviews (n=61) with toxic-exposure epidemiologists indicate that those in government settings (CDC, state health departments, and NIH) were more aware of and responsive to societal consequences of their publications than were those in universities. The NIH data were surprising, given NIH’s ivory tower image, but in part appear to stem from a broad trend towards greater accountability in science. Other worksite influences included: "institutional voice": epidemiologists from NIH or CDC were aware of speaking in the "voice of the government". There was also limited evidence suggesting the importance of local unit environment: investigators in the same research unit often reported being influenced by the tone set by the unit chief and colleagues. This preliminary study suggests that work-setting influences how epidemiologists define and execute their ethical responsibilities towards social consequences of their work, and generates questions and five testable hypotheses for future empirical research.
KEYWORDS: Toxic-exposure epidemiology; Work-setting; Scientific responsibility; Scientific publication; Media.
Gender, Lifecourse and Publication Decisions in Toxic-Exposure Epidemiology: 'Now!' vs. 'Wait a Minute!'
by David Rier
Social Studies of Science 33:269-300; 2003
Existing studies of gender and lifecourse in science have not focused on publication decisions, and even less so for... more
Existing studies of gender and lifecourse in science have not focused on publication decisions, and even less so for publication of studies liable to attract media and public attention. This paper is based on semi-structured interviews with 61 U.S. toxic-exposure epidemiologists about their publication decisions. It examines gender differences in how scientists, as they move through the lifecourse, approach publication decisions for research bearing potential societal implications. Though preliminary, the data suggest that males are overall more comfortable than females with pursuing visible publication and handling media coverage. However, males and females may begin to crisscross over time. Specifically, males started out in publishing potentially controversial papers in visible journals likely to attract media and public attention, but grew more cautious with age, rank, and experience. Amongst females, the situation was less homogenous: while some (often, the most elite) reported patterns similar to males’, more reported following the reverse pattern as they moved through the lifecourse. These differences may stem in part from gender differences in self-confidence, risk-taking, and competitiveness. The wider significance and limitations of the data are discussed, and lines of further research (including nine testable hypotheses) are suggested.
KEYWORDS:
Gender; Lifecourse; Risk-taking; Epidemiology; Scientific Publication; Media
Grassroots AIDS Knowledge: Implications for the Boundaries of Science and Collective Action
by David Rier
D. Indyk and D. Rier, 1993. Knowledge: Creation, Diffusion, Utilization 15:3-43.
{Reprinted in Doing Community-Based Research: A Reader; D. Murphy, M. Scammell, and R. Sclove (eds). Amherst, MA: The Loka Institute; 1997}.
Grassroots AIDS groups create, disseminate, and interpret knowledge. Their success in these new roles shows that:... more Grassroots AIDS groups create, disseminate, and interpret knowledge. Their success in these new roles shows that: traditional, top-down dissemination theories are inadequate; the debate over marginal innovation has defined marginality too simplistically; and the scientific journal is not the only source of scientific information. This, and "boundary work" by mainstream scientists, indicates that, despite problems, AIDS grassroots knowledge production challenges traditional definitions and boundaries of scientific work, offering a gateway to wider democratization of science. A resource mobilization approach is applied to assess whether the grassroots' AIDS knowledge production model can work for toxic exposures and women's health issues.
The Versatile "Caveat" Section of a Scientific Paper: Managing Public and Private Risk
by David Rier
Science Communication 21:3-37; 1999.
Are toxic-exposure epidemiologists influenced, when writing the “caveat’ portion of their papers, by how the media,... more Are toxic-exposure epidemiologists influenced, when writing the “caveat’ portion of their papers, by how the media, public, and courts might use their work? Qualitative interviews with 61 epidemiologists revealed that they relied on caveats to manage “public risk”--inappropriate use of their work by non-scientists. However, few considered caveats effective for this task. Caveats may be more important for managing professional risk, for subjects used caveats to: preempt criticism; advertise their credibility; adhere to conventions; hedge; and deflect attention from flaws in their papers. The data bear implications for the definition of "science," demarcation of scientists from non-scientists, and scientists' responsibility.
The Versatile "Caveat" Section of a Scientific Paper: Managing Public and Private Risk
by David Rier
Science Communication 21:3-37; 1999.
Are toxic-exposure epidemiologists influenced, when writing the “caveat’ portion of their papers, by how the media,... more Are toxic-exposure epidemiologists influenced, when writing the “caveat’ portion of their papers, by how the media, public, and courts might use their work? Qualitative interviews with 61 epidemiologists revealed that they relied on caveats to manage “public risk”--inappropriate use of their work by non-scientists. However, few considered caveats effective for this task. Caveats may be more important for managing professional risk, for subjects used caveats to: preempt criticism; advertise their credibility; adhere to conventions; hedge; and deflect attention from flaws in their papers. The data bear implications for the definition of "science," demarcation of scientists from non-scientists, and scientists' responsibility.
The Mechanics of Engenderneering: Cyborgs and Aliens as Manufactured Evil in Science-Fiction Film
Schwartzman, R. (2002). The mechanics of engenderneering: Cyborgs and aliens as manufactured evil in science fiction film. Kinema, 17, 75-90.
Note: The tables don't display properly in the HTML version, but should be correct in PDF version.
Contradictory Approaches? – On Realism and Constructivism in the Social Sciences Research on Risk, Technology and the Environment
in: Futures – The Journal of Policy, Planning and Futures Studies, Vol. 41, No. 2, March 2009, pp. 156-170
This article discusses approaches to researching the risk-problems of industrial societies. It examines why the... more This article discusses approaches to researching the risk-problems of industrial societies. It examines why the risk-constructivism neglects questions of the material production of risks in favor of questions of their communicative construction, while the risk-realism does it the other way round. Subsequently the possibilities of a synthesis of both approaches are being considered. The societal functions of risk-constructions are accordingly not limited to their efficacy in the sphere of social communication processes. They lie as well in the field of regulation of the metabolism of societies and their ecological environment. The validity of risk-constructions is consequently not only bound to their cultural weightiness, whether one believes in them or not, but to their capacity to manage realities, measured by their ability to bring expectations in accordance with events. Risk-constructions are not only transformed in the milieu of discourses, but also in the context of social practices which give the opportunity to acquire experiences and to perform learning processes in order to optimize risk-constructions as regulative instruments.