Scientific citizenship in a democratic society

Using the example of the sociological analysis of biological citizenship and literacy, it is argued that a merely descriptive analysis of these phenomena does not capture their distinctive normative features. While such a description realistically demonstrates how citizens respond to and are shaped by biotechnology and biomedical discourse, it provides no critique of the forces moulding the citizen-consumer. Ideas of active citizenship fuel the search for forms of public engagement in the spirit of deliberative democracy. While these attempts are guided by an important vision of policy making in democratic society, they are beset with several practical difficulties. It is argued that the discussion of deliberative practices has focused too much on direct participation of citizens in various dialogical events and its impact on policy and decision making. This approach ignores other important aspects of deliberative democratic theory, emphasizing public accountability and trustworthiness of democratic institutions.

Relationships among affective factors and preferred engagement in science-related activities

This study investigated how affective factors impact participation in science learning using structural equation modeling. Using a dataset from Taiwan, a model was obtained that showed the relationships among science-related interest, enjoyment, self-efficacy, self-concept, competency, leisure time engagement, and future interest in science. The paths relating to engagement and future interest were much stronger for interest and enjoyment than for self-efficacy and self-concept. There was no significant path between science competency and future science interest or engagement. The results suggest that the affective and cognitive pathways to scientific competency are divergent and that they might be differentially activated by different contexts and activities. This indicates that school science educators might wish to reconsider the merit of overemphasizing achievement in comparison to interest. Finally, the results suggest that the development of science competency per se may not be the best way to ensure public engagement and understanding of science.

How scientists view the public, the media and the political process

We review past studies on how scientists view the public, the goals of communication, the performance and impacts of the media, and the role of the public in policy decision-making. We add to these past findings by analyzing two recent large-scale surveys of scientists in the UK and US. These analyses show that scientists believe the public is uninformed about science and therefore prone to errors in judgment and policy preferences. Scientists are critical of media coverage generally, yet they also tend to rate favorably their own experience dealing with journalists, believing that such interactions are important both for promoting science literacy and for career advancement. Scientists believe strongly that they should have a role in public debates and view policy-makers as the most important group with which to engage. Few scientists view their role as an enabler of direct public participation in decision-making through formats such as deliberative meetings, and do not believe there are personal benefits for investing in these activities. Implications for future research are discussed, in particular the need to examine how ideology and selective information sources shape scientists' views.

Assigning value to medical algorithms: implications for personalized medicine

Genomic algorithms are typically multiple variable, mathematical equations that assign a score or probability to an event of clinical interest. Debate about the valuation of multianalyte algorithm assays highlights the gaps in best practices for valuing technologies. Decisions about valuation are partly about resolving scientific uncertainty, but also involve issues of social norms and political processes. More transparent discussion and understanding of beliefs about the valuation of algorithms would help reduce uncertainty and drive optimal investment in development and adoption of algorithms that improve social welfare; that is, affordably improving population health. Techniques have been evolving for greater public participation and engagement in such deliberations, which are to be encouraged in determining the valuation of genomic algorithms.

Performed and preferred participation in science and technology across Europe: Exploring an alternative idea of "democratic deficit"

Republican ideals of active scientific citizenship and extensive use of deliberative, democratic decision making have come to dominate the public participation agenda, and academic analyses have focused on the deficit of public involvement vis-à-vis these normative ideals. In this paper we use latent class models to explore what Eurobarometer survey data can tell us about the ways in which people participate in tacit or in policy-active ways with developments in science and technology, but instead of focusing on the distance between observed participation and the dominant, normative ideal of participation, we examine the distance between what people do, and what they themselves think is appropriate in terms of involvement. The typology of citizens emerging from the analyses entails an entirely different diagnosis of democratic deficit, one that stresses imbalance between performed and preferred participation.

Exploring the middle ground between environmental protection and economic growth

Public preference concerning the environment and the economy typically has been characterized as either pro-environmental protection or pro-economic development. Researchers and policymakers increasingly suggest that environmental protection and economic growth are not mutually exclusive. However, use of dichotomous-choice policy preference questions persists. This note empirically examines an alternative response format for the typical dichotomous-choice environmental/economic policy preference question and explores respondents' stated policy preferences in light of their support for recycling. We find that most respondents do not view environmental protection and economic development policy goals to be mutually exclusive. Most respondents view economic growth and environmental protection as compatible suggesting a more heterogeneous view of the environment-economic relationship than oft reported. Hence excluding a middle response choice to the standard environment/economic policy preference question may add measurement error, increase item nonresponse, and fail to account for the views of respondents who view these goals as complementary.

The influence of cultural capital on consumption of scientific culture: A survey of visitors to an open house event at a public scientific research institution

Based on the concept of cultural capital, this study explores the relationship between habitual behaviors of individuals regarding their past accumulation of such capital and current responses to a scientific institute's public outreach activity. At an open house held at the Institute for Molecular Science (IMS), anonymous questionnaires were distributed among 1,350 visitors and collected from 785 of them (collection rate = 58.1%). The results, measuring the past five to six years, showed that the respondents accumulated cultural capital through participation in scientific activities as well as in activities involving art, music, and literature. Given these quantified values, correlations between citizens' levels of accumulated cultural capital and their current scientific consumption behavior were studied. A statistical analysis of the two components of cultural capital (science and technology/art and literature) showed that people's accumulated scientific capital influenced their current behavior and revealed a correlation between the two components.

Benefit sharing and biobanking in Australia

Biobanks are essential tools for facilitating biomedical research, because they provide collections of human tissue linked with personal information. There is still little understanding of the underlying reasons why people participate in biobanking in the increasingly commercialised and internationalised biomedical research environment. This paper reports the results of an Australia-wide telephone survey. The paper analyses the types of obligations that members of the public may wish to see incorporated in biobank benefit sharing arrangements and the extent to which their views might be influenced by underlying norms of sharing behaviour. Latent class analysis of the dataset reveals three distinct classes of respondents. We link one of these with the norm of reciprocity, one with the norm of social responsibility. The third is not clearly linked with any one norm of sharing behaviour. The implications of these findings on biobank benefit sharing arrangements are discussed.

Stakeholder participation in comparative effectiveness research: defining a framework for effective engagement

AIMS: Stakeholder engagement is fundamental to comparative effectiveness research (CER), but lacks consistent terminology. This paper aims to define stakeholder engagement and present a conceptual model for involving stakeholders in CER. MATERIALS #ENTITYSTARTX00026; METHODS: The definitions and model were developed from a literature search, expert input and experience with the Center for Comparative Effectiveness Research in Cancer Genomics, a proof-of-concept platform for stakeholder involvement in priority setting and CER study design. RESULTS: Definitions for stakeholder and stakeholder engagement reflect the target constituencies and their role in CER. The 'analytic-deliberative' conceptual model for stakeholder engagement illustrates the inputs, methods and outputs relevant to CER. The model differentiates methods at each stage of the project; depicts the relationship between components; and identifies outcome measures for evaluation of the process. CONCLUSION: While the definitions and model require testing before being broadly adopted, they are an important foundational step and will be useful for investigators, funders and stakeholder groups interested in contributing to CER.

Expansion of nature conservation areas: problems with Natura 2000 implementation in Poland?

In spite of widespread support from most member countries' societies for European Union policy, including support for the sustainable development idea, in many EU countries the levels of acceptance of new environmental protection programmes have been and, in particular in new member states, still are considerably low. The experience of the countries which were the first to implement union directives show that they cannot be effectively applied without widespread public participation. The goal of this study was, using the example of Poland, to assess public acceptance of the expansion of nature conservation in the context of sustainable development principles and to discover whether existing nature governance should be modified when establishing new protected areas. The increase in protected areas in Poland has become a hotbed of numerous conflicts. In spite of the generally favourable attitudes to nature which Polish people generally have, Natura 2000 is perceived as an unnecessary additional conservation tool. Both local authorities and communities residing in the Natura areas think that the programme is a hindrance, rather than a help in the economic development of municipalities or regions, as was initially supposed. This lack of acceptance results from many factors, mainly social, historic and economic. The implications of these findings for current approach to the nature governance in Poland are discussed.

Nanotechnology risk communication past and prologue

Nanotechnologies operate at atomic, molecular, and macromolecular scales, at scales where matter behaves differently than at larger scales and quantum effects can dominate. Nanotechnologies have captured the imagination of science fiction writers as science, engineering, and industry have leapt to the challenge of harnessing them. Applications are proliferating. In contrast, despite recent progress the regulatory landscape is not yet coherent, and public awareness of nanotechnology remains low. This has led risk researchers and critics of current nanotechnology risk communication efforts to call for proactive strategies that do more than address facts, that include and go beyond the public participation stipulated by some government acts. A redoubling of nanotechnology risk communication efforts could enable consumer choice and informed public discourse about regulation and public investments in science and safety.

Linking knowledge with action in the pursuit of sustainable water-resources management

Managing water for sustainable use and economic development is both a technical and a governance challenge in which knowledge production and sharing play a central role. This article evaluates and compares the role of participatory governance and scientific information in decision-making in four basins in Brazil, Mexico, Thailand, and the United States. Water management institutions in each of the basins have evolved during the last 10-20 years from a relatively centralized water-management structure at the state or national level to a decision structure that involves engaging water users within the basins and the development of participatory processes. This change is consistent with global trends in which states increasingly are expected to gain public acceptance for larger water projects and policy changes. In each case, expanded citizen engagement in identifying options and in decision-making processes has resulted in more complexity but also has expanded the culture of integrated learning. International funding for water infrastructure has been linked to requirements for participatory management processes, but, ironically, this study finds that participatory processes appear to work better in the context of decisions that are short-term and easily adjusted, such as water-allocation decisions, and do not work so well for longer-term, high-stakes decisions regarding infrastructure. A second important observation is that the costs of capacity building to allow meaningful stakeholder engagement in water-management decision processes are not widely recognized. Failure to appreciate the associated costs and complexities may contribute to the lack of successful engagement of citizens in decisions regarding infrastructure.

The views of low-income employees regarding mandated comprehensive employee benefits for the sake of health

Socioeconomic factors stand in the way of good health for low-income populations. We suggest that employee benefits might serve as a means of improving the health of low-wage earners. We convened groups of low-income earners to design hypothetical employee benefit packages. Qualitative analysis of group discussions regarding state-mandated benefits indicated that participants were interested in a great variety of benefits, beyond health care, that address socioeconomic determinants of health. Long-term financial and educational investments were of particular value. These results may facilitate the design of employee benefits that promote the health of low-income workers.

Involving the public through participatory visual research methods

OBJECTIVES

To show how providing cameras to patients and community residents can be effective at involving the public in generating understanding of consumer, community, and health system problems and strengths.

BACKGROUND

Health-care institutions and systems may seek to include consumer perspectives on health and health care yet be challenged to involve the most vulnerable sectors, be they persons with disabilities or persons with low socio-economic status living in societies where a top-down approach to policy is the norm.

METHODS

Drawing on study examples using photo-elicitation and photovoice in Morocco and the United States, the authors explore issues of planning, data analysis, ethical concerns and action related to using participatory visual methods in different cultural and political contexts.

RESULTS

Visual data generated by consumers can be surprising and can identify health system problems and strengths omitted from data gathered using other means. Statistical data may convince policy makers of the need to address a problem. Participant visual data may in turn encourage policy maker attention and action.

CONCLUSION

Health system decision making may be improved by having a broader range of data available. Participant-generated visual data may support data gathered using traditional methods, or provide a reality check when compared with data generated by organizations, researchers and policy makers. The two study examples model innovative ways to surface health and health-care issues as they relate to consumers' real lives and engage vulnerable groups in systems change, even in contexts where expressing opinions might be seen as a risky thing to do.

Managing Uncertainty Through Participation

Participation enjoys a very special status in health promotion discourse. Conceptualised both as a process and a valued outcome, it is often viewed as a defining feature and a key principle of health promotion (Robertson & Minkler, 1994; Rootman, Goodstadt, Potvin & Springett, 2001). Taking advantage of an undisputable position as a cardinal value, the role of participation has rarely been critically examined in relation to health promotion practice and its contribution to public health. The questions regarding the role of participation and how, in practice, practitioners can facilitate and support its emergence, have not been given satisfactory answers. Answers to these crucial questions can only result from a theoretical understanding of what participation entails in terms of action in the social situations of health promotion interventions. Theorizing on the role of participation in health promotion and on the social processes at play when it occurs is a prerequisite to reframing participation as a professional practice rather than as an ideology (see Pelikan, Chapter 6), and to develop appropriate procedures that can foster the conditions for effective participation.

User involvement and the NHS reforms

The policy of 'user involvement' in the UK National Health Service emerged during the 1990s along with the reforms that created an internal market. Despite the official rhetoric, progress has been limited. Critics suggest that, not only was the policy flawed in its conception by the construction of service users as consumers and the conflation of consumerism with empowerment, but collaborative models of involvement have tended to legitimate rather than challenge existing provision. Some commentators have questioned the value of user involvement initiatives and proposed that alternative approaches, such as a strengthening of procedural rights or alignment with broader political campaigns, would be more appropriate. The low prominence given in the recent Government White Paper The New NHS1 to the contribution of service users, however, represents less of an ideological shift than a concentration on other, in the Government's view, more pressing priorities: namely, a concern to address the problems of public legitimacy and low staff morale by engaging in greater public participation and giving health professionals a more central role. The result has been a weakening of the users' voice by a conflation of user involvement with public participation and giving health professionals the authority to define users' needs for them. Service users risk, not only having their contribution devalued, but losing the right to an independent and distinctive voice. There is a real danger that the issues of user involvement will not be included on local agendas and the disparities between provision and need and between professionals' and users' views will increase.