Genomics and Society

by Gaskell, George; Bauer, Martin W.

• ISBN13: 9781844071142
• ISBN10: 1844071146
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-10-30
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

The impact of genomics on society has been the focus of debate and conflict across the world. Contrasting views of risks and benefits, trust in science and regulation, the understanding of science, media coverage and mobilization of the public by civil society groups all have been cited as drivers of public opinion. The long running controversy is a signal that the public's view cannot be ignored in the development and implementation of new technologies arising out of genomics such as agricultural biotechnologies, genetic testing and the uses of genetic information, the cloning of human cells and tissues and transgenic animals. Written by a progressive international group of social scientists from Europe, North America and Japan, this volume presents a series of comparative perspectives on the social, ethical and legal implications of genomics. The result is a book which encapsulates the lessons to be learned from the controversies of the 1990s and raises the level of debate on the societal implications of new developments in genomics.

Table of Contents

List of Figures, Tables and Boxes	p. viii
List of Contributors	p. x
Acknowledgements	p. xiv
List of Acronyms and Abbreviations	p. xv
The Genomic Society and its Public: Introduction	p. 1
Emerging Issues and Debates	p. 7
Dilemmas of Genetic Information	p. 9
What is genetic information?	p. 9
Uses of genetic information in the European context	p. 12
Particularities of genetic information	p. 18
Power and hierarchy: The lay-expert divide	p. 22
Limitations of genetic prediction and intergenerational responsibility	p. 23
Some paradoxes by way of conclusion	p. 25
Spare Parts for Human Bodies	p. 28
A common horizon	p. 30
Different stories in different countries	p. 32
Controversy and debate	p. 40
Moving the Goalposts in Bioethics	p. 44
Institutionalization of bioethics in Europe	p. 45
Future directions	p. 55
Whom to Trust with Genes on the Menu?	p. 60
The public perception of GM food	p. 61
Trust in information sources	p. 62
The formation of attitudes on GM food	p. 65
Methods	p. 67
Results	p. 69
Complexities in message reception	p. 70
The Efficacy of Public Opinion	p. 75
Public Mobilization and Policy Consequences	p. 77
Policy shift and the moratorium	p. 78
Possible explanations for the policy shift	p. 79
The concept of public outrage	p. 79
The role of public outrage in policy shift	p. 80
Public outrage or mobilization	p. 87
Mobilization as a social construct	p. 89
Demobilization	p. 90
The Coming of Age of Public Participation	p. 95
The trajectory of biotechnology and its applications and the role of publics	p. 96
The institutionalization of public participation?	p. 98
Features of institutionalization of public participation	p. 100
The road to institutionalization	p. 103
Whither institutionalization?	p. 108
Issue Salience and Media Framing over 30 Years	p. 113
The role of the Media in the formation of public opinion	p. 114
News values and the relative autonomy of the mass media	p. 117
Changes in salience and framing of biotechnology over the years	p. 119
The impact of the media	p. 125
The Politics of Bioethics	p. 131
The derivation of a scientific discovery	p. 131
Restoration to immortality: The promise of a regenerative medicine	p. 135
Playing God? Old ethical concerns in new voices	p. 137
Adult stem cells as Nature's own solution?	p. 138
Therapeutic cloning as humankind's techno-fix?	p. 141
The political ethics of human embryonic stem cells	p. 142
The Monster in the Public Imagination	p. 150
Matters out of place, monsters and monstrosity	p. 150
The ever-changing monster	p. 151
Monsters in newspaper photographs and cartoons about biotechnology	p. 152
Imagining genetic hybrids: Blended essence and emergent monstrosity	p. 159
The contemporary message of monsters	p. 162
Global Perspectives	p. 169
Towards a Global Pop Culture of Genes?	p. 171
The value of popular culture	p. 172
Jurassic Park	p. 173
Genetic realities: Fish and sports	p. 175
Popular culture in the news	p. 178
No clear winners or losers	p. 181
Competing Voices, Contrasting Frames in North America	p. 186
Attentive and engaged publics	p. 186
Understanding other audiences	p. 188
Media messages and gene technologies	p. 191
Rethinking audiences	p. 193
Transatlantic Tensions over GM Crops and Foods: Diverging perspectives	p. 197
The climate of public opinion	p. 199
What drives the perception of risks and benefits	p. 204
Conclusions	p. 208
The Japanese Experience	p. 212
The development of mass mediated discourse	p. 212
The law on cloning 2001: The regulatory discourse	p. 218
The discourse of everyday conversations	p. 222
Cross-cultural similarities	p. 224
Paradoxes of Resistance in Brazil	p. 228
Climates of opinion and the public debate	p. 229
Resistance: Local failure - global success	p. 238
Conclusions: Explaining Brazilian paradoxes	p. 242
Index	p. 250
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