The Yearbook of Nanotechnology in Society

by Fisher, Erik; Selin, Cynthia; Wetmore, Jameson M.

• ISBN13: 9781402084157
• ISBN10: 1402084153
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-07-04
• Publisher: Springer Verlag

Summary

The ideas and imagery about the future that characterize nanotechnology today are shaped by multiple values and agendas which influence public investments,business strategies, infrastructure design, and public debate. Presenting Futures highlights a variety of ways that nanotechnology actors think about and seek to shape the future. It brings together social scientists, humanists, government officials, activist groups, designers, and public relations professionals into a multifaceted and at times conflicting dialogue through press releases, government reports, and advertisements taken from the front lines of the political discourse over nanotechnology, as well as original writings that situate nanotechnological futures within broader contexts. The chapters in this volume document various approaches to the future and how contemporary cultural conceptions about science, technology, and society are created and ultimately influence our own cognitive frames, social contests, and material practices. More than a catalogue of visions, the Yearbook is designed to give social scientists, natural scientists, and the general public an opportunity to explore, reflect on, and ultimately critique these futures. In asking not so much what the future of nanotechnology may be, but rather how different social groups and organizations imagine and anticipate it, the Yearbook offers a series of starting points for exploring the role of the future in the present.

Table of Contents

Nanotechnology: The Future Is Coming Sooner than You Think	p. 1
The Workers' Push to Democratize Nanotechnology	p. 23
Thinking Longer Term about Technology	p. 37
Constructive Technology Assessment and Socio-Technical Scenarios	p. 49
Information and Imagination: How Lux Research Forecasts	p. 71
Designing for the Future: Nanoscale Research Facilities	p. 91
What Drives Public Acceptance of Nanotechnology?	p. 109
Nanologue	p. 117
Anticipating the Futures of Nanotechnology: Visionary Images as Means of Communication	p. 123
Winners of Nano-Hazard Symbol Contest Announced at World Social Forum, Nairobi, Kenya	p. 143
Your Children, Their Children	p. 147
Developing Plausible Nano-Enabled Products	p. 149
Nanotechnology for Chemical and Biological Defense 2030 Workshop and Study	p. 157
Nanotechnologies for Tomorrow's Society: A Case for Reflective Action Research in Flanders, Belgium	p. 163
Communications in the Age of Nanotechnology	p. 183
How Can Business Respond to the Technical, Social, and Commercial Uncertainties of Nanotechnology?	p. 195
Manufactured Nanoparticle Health and Safety Disclosure [Draft Report]	p. 201
A Framework for Responsible Nanotechnology	p. 207
Contemplating the Implications of a Nanotechnology "Revolution"	p. 215
Nanotechnology: Challenges and the Way Forward	p. 227
Technology Assessment of Nanotechnology: Problems and Methods in Assessing Emerging Technologies	p. 241
Compressed Foresight and Narrative Bias: Pitfalls in Assessing High Technology Futures	p. 265
Science Fiction, Nano-Ethics, and the Moral Imagination	p. 291
About the Editors	p. 303
Index	p. 305
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