Author: Guido Ruivenkamp
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9086866395
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 367
Book Description
The main subject of this publication is the co-creation of society and biotechnology. The authors do not treat society and biotechnology as separate domains, instead they consider technologies as socially constructed. The main focus of this publication is on agro-biotechnologies and the contributors present perspectives for reconstruction both from and in 'the North' and 'the South'. Reconstructing biotechnologies offers a range of critical social analyses confronting the actuality of biotechnology with the potentialities of its social reconstruction. In doing that, the book develops and merges literature from four different disciplines, namely (i) critical theory and its analyses of technology and power, (ii) political economy, critically assessing the interrelationship between economy, politics and technology, (iii) social constructivism, which holds that technology is the product of agency and knowledge systems, and (iv) the analysis of rural society and agrarian technologies in rural sociology. Reconstructing biotechnologies introduces exciting approaches and examples into the social reshaping of biotechnologies. It brings together critical examinations of contemporary biotechnology development and puts forward possible alternatives written by critical scholars. The contributions in this publication are for students and scholars in a wide range of disciplines such as social and political sciences, science and technology studies, and development studies. The editors of the book are associated with the Social Sciences Department of Wageningen University in the Netherlands and the Graduate School of Economics of Kyoto University in Japan. They have published extensively on social and political theory and biotechnology.
Reconstructing biotechnologies
Author: Guido Ruivenkamp
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9086866395
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 367
Book Description
The main subject of this publication is the co-creation of society and biotechnology. The authors do not treat society and biotechnology as separate domains, instead they consider technologies as socially constructed. The main focus of this publication is on agro-biotechnologies and the contributors present perspectives for reconstruction both from and in 'the North' and 'the South'. Reconstructing biotechnologies offers a range of critical social analyses confronting the actuality of biotechnology with the potentialities of its social reconstruction. In doing that, the book develops and merges literature from four different disciplines, namely (i) critical theory and its analyses of technology and power, (ii) political economy, critically assessing the interrelationship between economy, politics and technology, (iii) social constructivism, which holds that technology is the product of agency and knowledge systems, and (iv) the analysis of rural society and agrarian technologies in rural sociology. Reconstructing biotechnologies introduces exciting approaches and examples into the social reshaping of biotechnologies. It brings together critical examinations of contemporary biotechnology development and puts forward possible alternatives written by critical scholars. The contributions in this publication are for students and scholars in a wide range of disciplines such as social and political sciences, science and technology studies, and development studies. The editors of the book are associated with the Social Sciences Department of Wageningen University in the Netherlands and the Graduate School of Economics of Kyoto University in Japan. They have published extensively on social and political theory and biotechnology.
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9086866395
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 367
Book Description
The main subject of this publication is the co-creation of society and biotechnology. The authors do not treat society and biotechnology as separate domains, instead they consider technologies as socially constructed. The main focus of this publication is on agro-biotechnologies and the contributors present perspectives for reconstruction both from and in 'the North' and 'the South'. Reconstructing biotechnologies offers a range of critical social analyses confronting the actuality of biotechnology with the potentialities of its social reconstruction. In doing that, the book develops and merges literature from four different disciplines, namely (i) critical theory and its analyses of technology and power, (ii) political economy, critically assessing the interrelationship between economy, politics and technology, (iii) social constructivism, which holds that technology is the product of agency and knowledge systems, and (iv) the analysis of rural society and agrarian technologies in rural sociology. Reconstructing biotechnologies introduces exciting approaches and examples into the social reshaping of biotechnologies. It brings together critical examinations of contemporary biotechnology development and puts forward possible alternatives written by critical scholars. The contributions in this publication are for students and scholars in a wide range of disciplines such as social and political sciences, science and technology studies, and development studies. The editors of the book are associated with the Social Sciences Department of Wageningen University in the Netherlands and the Graduate School of Economics of Kyoto University in Japan. They have published extensively on social and political theory and biotechnology.
Opportunities in Biotechnology for Future Army Applications
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309075556
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 118
Book Description
This report surveys opportunities for future Army applications in biotechnology, including sensors, electronics and computers, materials, logistics, and medical therapeutics, by matching commercial trends and developments with enduring Army requirements. Several biotechnology areas are identified as important for the Army to exploit, either by direct funding of research or by indirect influence of commercial sources, to achieve significant gains in combat effectiveness before 2025.
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309075556
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 118
Book Description
This report surveys opportunities for future Army applications in biotechnology, including sensors, electronics and computers, materials, logistics, and medical therapeutics, by matching commercial trends and developments with enduring Army requirements. Several biotechnology areas are identified as important for the Army to exploit, either by direct funding of research or by indirect influence of commercial sources, to achieve significant gains in combat effectiveness before 2025.
Reconstructing Earth
Author: Braden Allenby
Publisher: Island Press
ISBN: 1597266205
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 220
Book Description
The Earth's biological, chemical, and physical systems are increasingly shaped by the activities of one species-ours. In our decisions about everything from manufacturing technologies to restaurant menus, the health of the planet has become a product of human choice. Environmentalism, however, has largely failed to adapt to this new reality. Reconstructing Earth offers seven essays that explore ways of developing a new, more sophisticated approach to the environment that replaces the fantasy of recovering pristine landscapes with a more grounded viewpoint that can foster a better relationship between humans and the planet. Braden Allenby, a lawyer with degrees in both engineering and environmental studies, explains the importance of technological choice, and how that factor is far more significant in shaping our environment (in ways both desirable and not) than environmental controls. Drawing on his varied background and experience in both academia and the corporate world, he describes the emerging field of "earth systems engineering and management," which offers an integrated approach to understanding and managing complex human/natural systems that can serve as a basis for crafting better, more lasting solutions to widespread environmental problems. Reconstructing Earth not only critiques dysfunctional elements of current environmentalism but establishes a foundation for future environmental management and progress, one built on an understanding of technological evolution and the cultural systems that support modern technologies. Taken together, the essays offer an important means of developing an environmentalism that is robust and realistic enough to address the urgent realities of our planet. Reconstructing Earth is a thought-provoking new work for anyone concerned with the past or future of environmental thought, including students and teachers of environmental studies, environmental policy, technology policy, technological evolution, or sustainability.
Publisher: Island Press
ISBN: 1597266205
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 220
Book Description
The Earth's biological, chemical, and physical systems are increasingly shaped by the activities of one species-ours. In our decisions about everything from manufacturing technologies to restaurant menus, the health of the planet has become a product of human choice. Environmentalism, however, has largely failed to adapt to this new reality. Reconstructing Earth offers seven essays that explore ways of developing a new, more sophisticated approach to the environment that replaces the fantasy of recovering pristine landscapes with a more grounded viewpoint that can foster a better relationship between humans and the planet. Braden Allenby, a lawyer with degrees in both engineering and environmental studies, explains the importance of technological choice, and how that factor is far more significant in shaping our environment (in ways both desirable and not) than environmental controls. Drawing on his varied background and experience in both academia and the corporate world, he describes the emerging field of "earth systems engineering and management," which offers an integrated approach to understanding and managing complex human/natural systems that can serve as a basis for crafting better, more lasting solutions to widespread environmental problems. Reconstructing Earth not only critiques dysfunctional elements of current environmentalism but establishes a foundation for future environmental management and progress, one built on an understanding of technological evolution and the cultural systems that support modern technologies. Taken together, the essays offer an important means of developing an environmentalism that is robust and realistic enough to address the urgent realities of our planet. Reconstructing Earth is a thought-provoking new work for anyone concerned with the past or future of environmental thought, including students and teachers of environmental studies, environmental policy, technology policy, technological evolution, or sustainability.
Paul B. Thompson's Philosophy of Agriculture
Author: Samantha Noll
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3031374843
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 211
Book Description
This book explores the philosophical thought and praxis of Paul B. Thompson, who planted some of the first seeds of philosophy of agriculture and whose work inspires interdisciplinary scholarship in food ethics, biotechnology, and environmental philosophy. Landmark texts such as The Spirit of the Soil, The Agrarian Vision, and From Field to Fork revealed the fertility of food systems for inspiring reflection on our relationships to technology, the land, and one another. Rooted in philosophical traditions ranging from pragmatism to post-phenomenology, Thompson’s work nourishes projects in ethics, epistemology, philosophy of science, and social and political theory, not only in academic philosophy departments but also in the social and natural sciences. This volume collects this diversity of thought in a tour of the many fields of food systems; from theorizing the sustainability of agroecological systems, to appreciating the quotidian practice of agrarian communities, to anticipating the impacts of emerging biotechnology, and to savoring the roles that food plays in forming our identities. Composed by an international crop of scholars working on the future of food ethics, the volume is a vital contribution to scholars and practitioners thinking through our relationships to the food systems that sustain us.
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3031374843
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 211
Book Description
This book explores the philosophical thought and praxis of Paul B. Thompson, who planted some of the first seeds of philosophy of agriculture and whose work inspires interdisciplinary scholarship in food ethics, biotechnology, and environmental philosophy. Landmark texts such as The Spirit of the Soil, The Agrarian Vision, and From Field to Fork revealed the fertility of food systems for inspiring reflection on our relationships to technology, the land, and one another. Rooted in philosophical traditions ranging from pragmatism to post-phenomenology, Thompson’s work nourishes projects in ethics, epistemology, philosophy of science, and social and political theory, not only in academic philosophy departments but also in the social and natural sciences. This volume collects this diversity of thought in a tour of the many fields of food systems; from theorizing the sustainability of agroecological systems, to appreciating the quotidian practice of agrarian communities, to anticipating the impacts of emerging biotechnology, and to savoring the roles that food plays in forming our identities. Composed by an international crop of scholars working on the future of food ethics, the volume is a vital contribution to scholars and practitioners thinking through our relationships to the food systems that sustain us.
Reclaiming the Knowledge Economy
Author: Katerina Psarikidou
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 9811668434
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 175
Book Description
This book offers a critical analysis of the diverse knowledge and knowledge production processes through which ‘alternative agro-food networks’ can constitute a more plural ‘knowledge economy’. It provides critical sociological and political economic insights that help problematise dominant capitalocentric and technocentric framings of the ‘knowledge (bio)economy’. It will appeal to researchers, practitioners and policy-makers with an interest in supporting inclusive research, policy and innovation agendas for sustainability.
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 9811668434
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 175
Book Description
This book offers a critical analysis of the diverse knowledge and knowledge production processes through which ‘alternative agro-food networks’ can constitute a more plural ‘knowledge economy’. It provides critical sociological and political economic insights that help problematise dominant capitalocentric and technocentric framings of the ‘knowledge (bio)economy’. It will appeal to researchers, practitioners and policy-makers with an interest in supporting inclusive research, policy and innovation agendas for sustainability.
Recoding Life
Author: Sakari Tamminen
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1315399202
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 265
Book Description
This book addresses the unprecedented convergence between the digital and the corporeal in the life sciences and turns to Foucault’s biopolitics in order to understand how life is being turned into a technological object. It examines a wide range of bioscientific knowledge practices that allow life to be known through codes that can be shared (copied), owned (claimed, and managed) and optimised (remade through codes based on standard language and biotech engineering visions). The book’s approach is captured in the title, which refers to 'the biopolitical'. The authors argue that through discussions of political theories of sovereignty and related geopolitical conceptions of nature and society, we can understand how crucially important it is that life is constantly unsettling and disrupting the established and familiar ordering of the material world and the related ways of thinking and acting politically. The biopolitical dynamics involved are conceptualised as the 'metacode of life', which refers to the shifting configurations of living materiality and the merging of conventional boundaries between the natural and artificial, the living and non-living. The result is a globalising world in which the need for an alternative has become a core part of its political and legal instability, and the authors identify a number of possible alternative platforms to understand life and the living as framed by the 'metacodes' of life. This book will appeal to scholars of science and technology studies, as well as scholars of the sociology, philosophy, and anthropology of science, who are seeking to understand social and technical heterogeneity as a characteristic of the life sciences.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1315399202
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 265
Book Description
This book addresses the unprecedented convergence between the digital and the corporeal in the life sciences and turns to Foucault’s biopolitics in order to understand how life is being turned into a technological object. It examines a wide range of bioscientific knowledge practices that allow life to be known through codes that can be shared (copied), owned (claimed, and managed) and optimised (remade through codes based on standard language and biotech engineering visions). The book’s approach is captured in the title, which refers to 'the biopolitical'. The authors argue that through discussions of political theories of sovereignty and related geopolitical conceptions of nature and society, we can understand how crucially important it is that life is constantly unsettling and disrupting the established and familiar ordering of the material world and the related ways of thinking and acting politically. The biopolitical dynamics involved are conceptualised as the 'metacode of life', which refers to the shifting configurations of living materiality and the merging of conventional boundaries between the natural and artificial, the living and non-living. The result is a globalising world in which the need for an alternative has become a core part of its political and legal instability, and the authors identify a number of possible alternative platforms to understand life and the living as framed by the 'metacodes' of life. This book will appeal to scholars of science and technology studies, as well as scholars of the sociology, philosophy, and anthropology of science, who are seeking to understand social and technical heterogeneity as a characteristic of the life sciences.
Biosafety of Forest Transgenic Trees
Author: Cristina Vettori
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 9401775311
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 342
Book Description
This book provides up-to-date information on the environmental impact of transgenic trees on genetically modified tree (GMT) communication strategy. It is useful to public/private organisations as well as to private and public research bodies and universities worldwide since it reports on the global status of GMT research and policy. A high number of genetically modified trees (GMTs) with altered or novel characteristics have been produced in the last 15 years. However, their very low public acceptance is a basic problem in their commercialization. Breeders anticipate economic and ecological benefits, like reduced product costs and less pressure on native forests, while opponents fear risks, such as unintended spread of GMTs. But what is true? To answer this question, the COST Action FP0905 focused on key aspects related to GMTs: (a) biological characterization; (b) assessment of possible environmental impacts; (c) socio-economic implications and public acceptance/concerns; (d) providing science-based information to communicate with the public.
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 9401775311
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 342
Book Description
This book provides up-to-date information on the environmental impact of transgenic trees on genetically modified tree (GMT) communication strategy. It is useful to public/private organisations as well as to private and public research bodies and universities worldwide since it reports on the global status of GMT research and policy. A high number of genetically modified trees (GMTs) with altered or novel characteristics have been produced in the last 15 years. However, their very low public acceptance is a basic problem in their commercialization. Breeders anticipate economic and ecological benefits, like reduced product costs and less pressure on native forests, while opponents fear risks, such as unintended spread of GMTs. But what is true? To answer this question, the COST Action FP0905 focused on key aspects related to GMTs: (a) biological characterization; (b) assessment of possible environmental impacts; (c) socio-economic implications and public acceptance/concerns; (d) providing science-based information to communicate with the public.
Yeasts in Biotechnology and Human Health
Author: Isabel Sá-Correia
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3030130355
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 240
Book Description
This book discusses genome-based strategies to provide a holistic understanding of yeasts in Human Health and as model organisms in basic research or industrial production. Using numerous Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains and various non-conventional yeast species isolated from diverse origins, it describes essential biological processes, the biotechnological exploitation of yeast and pathogenesis control. It also demonstrates how functional and comparative genomics and the development of genome engineering tools are used in modern yeast research. The use of yeasts as experimental eukaryotic models increasingly gained prominence when several Nobel Prizes in Physiology/Medicine and Chemistry were awarded for innovative research, using yeast strains to elucidate molecular mechanisms in a wide range of human physiological processes and diseases, such as autophagy, cell cycle regulation and telomerase activity. This book offers useful insights for scientists in yeast research, clinical scientists working with yeast infectious models and for industrial researchers using applied microbiology.
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3030130355
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 240
Book Description
This book discusses genome-based strategies to provide a holistic understanding of yeasts in Human Health and as model organisms in basic research or industrial production. Using numerous Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains and various non-conventional yeast species isolated from diverse origins, it describes essential biological processes, the biotechnological exploitation of yeast and pathogenesis control. It also demonstrates how functional and comparative genomics and the development of genome engineering tools are used in modern yeast research. The use of yeasts as experimental eukaryotic models increasingly gained prominence when several Nobel Prizes in Physiology/Medicine and Chemistry were awarded for innovative research, using yeast strains to elucidate molecular mechanisms in a wide range of human physiological processes and diseases, such as autophagy, cell cycle regulation and telomerase activity. This book offers useful insights for scientists in yeast research, clinical scientists working with yeast infectious models and for industrial researchers using applied microbiology.
Environment, Power, and Justice
Author: Graeme Wynn
Publisher: Ohio University Press
ISBN: 0821447777
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 353
Book Description
Spanning the colonial, postcolonial, and postapartheid eras, these historical and locally specific case studies analyze and engage vernacular, activist, and scholarly efforts to mitigate social-environmental inequity. This book highlights the ways poor and vulnerable people in South Africa, Lesotho, and Zimbabwe have mobilized against the structural and political forces that deny them a healthy and sustainable environment. Spanning the colonial, postcolonial, and postapartheid eras, these studies engage vernacular, activist, and scholarly efforts to mitigate social-environmental inequity. Some chapters track the genealogies of contemporary activism, while others introduce positions, actors, and thinkers not previously identified with environmental justice. Addressing health, economic opportunity, agricultural policy, and food security, the chapters in this book explore a range of issues and ways of thinking about harm to people and their ecologies. Because environmental justice is often understood as a contemporary phenomenon framed around North American examples, these fresh case studies will enrich both southern African history and global environmental studies. Environment, Power, and Justice expands conceptions of environmental justice and reveals discourses and dynamics that advance both scholarship and social change. Contributors: Christopher Conz Marc Epprecht Mary Galvin Sarah Ives Admire Mseba Muchaparara Musemwa Matthew A. Schnurr Cherryl Walker
Publisher: Ohio University Press
ISBN: 0821447777
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 353
Book Description
Spanning the colonial, postcolonial, and postapartheid eras, these historical and locally specific case studies analyze and engage vernacular, activist, and scholarly efforts to mitigate social-environmental inequity. This book highlights the ways poor and vulnerable people in South Africa, Lesotho, and Zimbabwe have mobilized against the structural and political forces that deny them a healthy and sustainable environment. Spanning the colonial, postcolonial, and postapartheid eras, these studies engage vernacular, activist, and scholarly efforts to mitigate social-environmental inequity. Some chapters track the genealogies of contemporary activism, while others introduce positions, actors, and thinkers not previously identified with environmental justice. Addressing health, economic opportunity, agricultural policy, and food security, the chapters in this book explore a range of issues and ways of thinking about harm to people and their ecologies. Because environmental justice is often understood as a contemporary phenomenon framed around North American examples, these fresh case studies will enrich both southern African history and global environmental studies. Environment, Power, and Justice expands conceptions of environmental justice and reveals discourses and dynamics that advance both scholarship and social change. Contributors: Christopher Conz Marc Epprecht Mary Galvin Sarah Ives Admire Mseba Muchaparara Musemwa Matthew A. Schnurr Cherryl Walker
Biotechnology of Extremophiles:
Author: Pabulo H Rampelotto
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 331913521X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 726
Book Description
Aimed at research scientists and biotechnologists, this book is an essential reading for those working with extremophiles and their potential biotechnological application. Here, we provide a comprehensive and reliable source of information on the recent advances and challenges in different aspects of the theme. Written in an accessible language, the book is also a recommended as reference text for anyone interested in this thriving field of research. Over the last decades, the study of extremophiles has provided ground breaking discoveries that challenge our understanding of biochemistry and molecular biology. In the applied side, extremophiles and their enzymes have spawned a multibillion dollar biotechnology industry, with applications spanning biomedical, pharmaceutical, industrial, environmental, and agricultural sectors. Taq DNA polymerase (which was isolated from Thermus aquaticus from a geothermal spring in Yellowstone National Park) is the most well-known example of the potential biotechnological application of extremophiles and their biomolecules. Indeed, the application of extremophiles and their biologically active compounds has opened a new era in biotechnology. However, despite the latest advances, we are just in the beginning of exploring the biotechnological potentials of extremophiles.
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 331913521X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 726
Book Description
Aimed at research scientists and biotechnologists, this book is an essential reading for those working with extremophiles and their potential biotechnological application. Here, we provide a comprehensive and reliable source of information on the recent advances and challenges in different aspects of the theme. Written in an accessible language, the book is also a recommended as reference text for anyone interested in this thriving field of research. Over the last decades, the study of extremophiles has provided ground breaking discoveries that challenge our understanding of biochemistry and molecular biology. In the applied side, extremophiles and their enzymes have spawned a multibillion dollar biotechnology industry, with applications spanning biomedical, pharmaceutical, industrial, environmental, and agricultural sectors. Taq DNA polymerase (which was isolated from Thermus aquaticus from a geothermal spring in Yellowstone National Park) is the most well-known example of the potential biotechnological application of extremophiles and their biomolecules. Indeed, the application of extremophiles and their biologically active compounds has opened a new era in biotechnology. However, despite the latest advances, we are just in the beginning of exploring the biotechnological potentials of extremophiles.