tailieunhanh - Public perception of nanotechnology

While several studies on the public opinion of nanotechnology have pointed to a rather enthusiastic . public, the public uptake of nanotechnology in Europe is more contained. The results of the Swiss publifocus on nanotechnology reveal a pragmatic attitude of citizens toward the emerging technologies, thus confirming what has been identified as a ‘‘balanced approach’’ in the NanoJury UK. Keywords Nanotechnology Á Nanoscience Á Citizens Á Focus groups Á Upstream engagement Á Public attitudes Á Societal implications. | J Nanopart Res 2008 10 387-391 DOI s11051-007-9286-7 PERSPECTIVES Public perception of nanotechnology Regula Valerie Burri Sergio Bellucci Received 2 January 2007 Accepted 25 July 2007 Published online 18 August 2007 Springer Science Business Media . 2007 Abstract While several studies on the public opinion of nanotechnology have pointed to a rather enthusiastic . public the public uptake of nanotechnology in Europe is more contained. The results of the Swiss publifocus on nanotechnology reveal a pragmatic attitude of citizens toward the emerging technologies thus confirming what has been identified as a balanced approach in the NanoJury UK. Keywords Nanotechnology Nanoscience Citizens Focus groups Upstream engagement Public attitudes Societal implications Introduction In recent years discourses on science-society interactions have been increasingly pointing to the importance of the public response to and acceptance of emerging technologies. While early discourses in the Public Understanding of Science had diagnosed a lack of scientific literacy among laypeople and identified it as a cause for the public s low support of scientific research Bodmer 1985 recent discourses are not pointing to such a deficit model Wynne 1991 Ziman 1991 but underline the importance of the public s involvement in science policy. According to this understanding the public should be able to not just understand science but also participate in decisions on further developments of research and future applications at an early stage of R D thus being enabled to participate in an upstream engagement. The commitments to upstream the dialogue between science and the public in processes of technological innovation also mark a shift in public policy discourses Macnaghten et al. 2005 . Governmental authorities are keen to avoid a repetition of the heavy controversies that had accompanied the diffusion of biotechnology. The consensus that the public should be involved in deliberative .