Biotechnology Across the Borders of Life: Stem Cell Technology and Global Medical Exchange. This project interrogates the debates and policy surrounding embryonic stem cell technology and two intimately connected medical technologies - reproductive technologies, in which it is founded, and organ transplantation, which it seeks to overcome. Each of these technologies repeatedly confronts and tests social, cultural, ethical and legal precedents, fuelling world-wide political and media debate. The ....Biotechnology Across the Borders of Life: Stem Cell Technology and Global Medical Exchange. This project interrogates the debates and policy surrounding embryonic stem cell technology and two intimately connected medical technologies - reproductive technologies, in which it is founded, and organ transplantation, which it seeks to overcome. Each of these technologies repeatedly confronts and tests social, cultural, ethical and legal precedents, fuelling world-wide political and media debate. The project addresses the social effects - locally and globally - of these technologies. Analyses of altruism, giving and commodification underpin the study, and are used to elucidate the social ramifications of the practices and expert discourses of these biotechnologies in four nation-states: Australia, Singapore, UK and USA.Read moreRead less
Agri-food Applications of Genetically-Modified Organisms: Public Perceptions, Risk and Sustainability. Agricultural and food biotechnologies are being disseminated throughout Australia - despite growing consumer concerns. Employing a sociological framework, this research will investigate ways genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) - and their associated risks - are perceived by consumers. This Australia-wide study is significant because of the nation's current endorsement of GMOs, the reluctance/ ....Agri-food Applications of Genetically-Modified Organisms: Public Perceptions, Risk and Sustainability. Agricultural and food biotechnologies are being disseminated throughout Australia - despite growing consumer concerns. Employing a sociological framework, this research will investigate ways genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) - and their associated risks - are perceived by consumers. This Australia-wide study is significant because of the nation's current endorsement of GMOs, the reluctance/inability of science to recognise lay concerns, and the likelihood that some biotechnologies will compromise environmental sustainability. Outcomes will include: conceptual advances in relation to risk and trust; an understanding of consumer acceptance/rejection of GMOs; and, recognition of the potential for agri-food biotechnologies to contribute to sustainability.Read moreRead less