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Visions and Versions of Governing Biomedicine

Narratives on Power Structures, Decision-making and Public Participation in the Field of Biomedical Technology in the Austrian Context

Department of Social Studies of Science, University of Vienna, Sensengasse 8/10, A-1090 Vienna, Austria, ulrike.felt{at}univie.ac.at

Maximilian Fochler

Department of Social Studies of Science, University of Vienna, Sensengasse 8/10, A-1090 Vienna, Austria, maximilian.fochler{at}univie.ac.at

Astrid Mager

Department of Social Studies of Science, University of Vienna, Sensengasse 8/10, A-1090 Vienna, Austria, astrid.mager{at}univie.ac.at

Peter Winkler

Department of Social Studies of Science, University of Vienna, Sensengasse 8/10, A-1090 Vienna, Austria, peter.winkler{at}univie.ac.at

In recent years, governance and public participation have developed into key notions within both policy discourse and academic analysis. While there is much discussion on developing new modes of governance and public participation, little empirical attention is paid to the public's perception of models, possibilities and limits of participation and governance. Building on focus group data collected in Austria within the framework of a European project, this paper explores lay people's visions and versions of government, governance and participation for two biomedical technologies: post-natal genetic testing and organ transplantation. Building on this analysis, we show that people situate their assessments of public participation against the background of rather complex lay models of the governance and government of the respective technology. Because these models are very different for the two technologies, participation also had very different connotations, which were deeply intertwined with each socio-technical system. Building on these findings we argue for a more technology-sensitive approach to public participation.

Key Words: biomedicine • governance • public participation • technology

Social Studies of Science, Vol. 38, No. 2, 233-257 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/0306312707083489


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