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| Biotechnology Unglued |
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Science, Society, and Social Cohesion
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Michael Mehta
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$95.00 Hardcover
Release Date: 3/23/2005
ISBN: 9780774811330
$32.95 Paperback
Release Date: 1/1/2006
ISBN: 9780774811347
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| 208 Pages |
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| OTHER WAYS TO ORDER |
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About the Book
Proponents of biotechnology claim that its advances will create a better world -- one free of malnutrition and hunger, where better medical treatments will be available through gene discovery, and where more efficient policing will be possible with improved forensic techniques. While some biotechnological innovations do provide significant benefits to individual users, their impact on society is often poorly understood. Will these new technologies unravel, or perhaps realign, the social fabric as we know it?
Biotechnology Unglued explores this question in a well-considered investigation of the effects of technology on social cohesion. The essays present case studies of how various applications in agricultural, medical, and forensic biotechnology have affected the cohesiveness of agricultural communities, citizens, consumer groups, scientific communities, and society in general. The contributors, from a range of backgrounds, demonstrate how particular kinds of technology-society and technology-corporate configurations affect social cohesion by creating cultures of surveillance, competition, social exclusion, and control.
The two faces of biotechnology are revealed throughout to show the promises and perils associated with a range of innovations. The book’s reasoned commentary and engaging style will appeal to anyone interested in the social dimensions of biotechnology.
About the Author(s)
Michael Mehta is Professor of Sociology and Chair of the Sociology of Biotechnology Program at the University of Saskatchewan.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
1. Introduction: The Impact of Innovations in Biotechnology on Social Cohesion
Michael Mehta
2 The Impact of Agricultural Biotechnology on Social Cohesion
Michael Mehta
3 Agricultural Biotechnology and Developing Countries: Issues of Poverty Alleviation, Food Security and Sustainable Development
Jacqueline Broerse and Joske Bunders
4 Legitimation Crisis: Food Safety and Genetically Modified Organisms
Christopher Vanderpool, Toby Ten Eyck and Craig Harris
5 Genetically Modified Foods in Norway: A Consumer Perspective
Margareta Wandel
6 Commercializing Iceland: Biotechnology, Culture and the Information Society
Kyle Eischen
7 Biotechnology and Social Control: The Canadian DNA Data Bank
Neil Gerlach
8 Biotechnology as Modern Museums of Civilization
Annette Burfoot and Jennifer Poudrier
9 The Production, Diffusion and Use of Knowledge in Biotechnology: The Discovery of BRCA1 and BRCA2 Genes
Robert Dalpé, Louise Bouchard and Daniel Ducharme
Contributors
Index
Reviews
“With its tight focus on social implications generally and social cohesion particularly, Biotechnology Unglued has a unique niche in the very ‘hot’ area of biotechnology. This focus is its strength and comparative advantage, and will set it apart from the rest of the literature, both existing and forthcoming.”
– William Leiss, School of Policy Studies, Queen’s University
Sample Chapter
Chapter One
Related Topics
Science
Sociology
Other Ways To Order
In Canada, order your copy of Biotechnology Unglued from UTP Distribution at:
UTP Distribution
5201 Dufferin Street
Toronto, Ontario
M3H 5T8
Phone orders: 1(800)565-9523 or (416)667-7791
Fax orders: 1(800)221-9985 or (416)667-7832
Email: utpbooks@utpress.utoronto.ca
Ordering information for customers outside Canada
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