About Project 1
As a result of electromagnetic pollution, the production and application of nanoscale particles for a wide range of different purposes, a large consumption of dietary supplements as well as the dissemination of the mad cow desease (BSE) complex arenas of (sub-)political debates about well known and suspected risks have been established. Society and every single person is confronted with a tremendous complexity and rapid dynamic of a large number of contradictory expertise and media reports.
The term "Systemic Risk" especially comprises the various dynamics and changeability of these risks. Particularly within the field of risk communication and risk management new institutional and societal strategies are required to deal with these novel risks. A new form of societal practice with systemic risks will be developed in this project.
Aim of the Project
The aim of the reseach project is to develop an internet based visualisation of risk related controversies as argumentation maps on the basis of two exemplary case studies: dietary supplements and nanoscale particles. These argumentation maps will be developed by an interdisciplinary research team of sociologists, natural scientists, computer scientists as well as partners and advisors from industry, poltics and academia. With these agrumentation maps users will be provided with detailed information about public debats on risks concerning dietary supplements and nanoscale particles. These maps show actors, materials and arguments and their (formally unseen) connections, relations and interactions. Main focus will be given on showing a broad overview of the most commonly discussed arguments and matters of dispute within the case studies (details see below). Different perspectives and opinions of participated and affected poltical, industrial and public actors as well as social groups will be presented. The maps will be completed by documents and reference texts as well as basic information about risk related substances.
Scientific methods of discourse analysis and (actor-)network analysis will help us to describe knowledge-claims, risk-concepts and locally based risk assessments from the different perspectives of nearly every affected actor. Based on these findings, the data structure, visualisation methods and the useability of the grafical user interface will be improved step by step in close cooperation with partners from policy, industry, academia etc. Stakeholder workshops and periodical meetings with our partners will guarantee the development of a new prototype tool for mapping debates on systemic risks.
Case Studies
1. Nanoscale Materials and Particles
Since the 1990's nanotechnology promises potential beneficial impacts on economy and society. As a Result of this new technology nowadays there is an incresing production and application of nanoscale particles for a wide range of different purposes e.g. daily consumer products.
Typically nanomaterials have structure sizes smaller than 100 nm. Due to its small size and therefore extremely surface-to-volume ratio nanomaterials have completely new chemical and physical properties differing significantly from bulk materials.
In recent times an increasing number of sceptical voices concerning nanotechnology and nanoscale materials can be heard in the public. Most critics focus on potential health and environmental risks of nanomaterials. This can be illustrated by several articles in newspapers and scientific journals discussing potential negative effects and risks of nanoparticle applications. By the way the discussion on risks of nanomaterials is very similar to the discussion on negative effects and health risks of asbestos in the 1970's.
Altough nanotechnology in most fields is still at an experimental stage, the next few years will probably see a dramatic increase in the industrial production and use of nanoparticles. Therefore debates about the impacts and emerging risks of nanoscale particles will rise, too.
2. Dietary Supplements
Today there is a growing trend towards the consumption of dietary supplement products worldwide. In Europe, sales of products in the dietary supplement market approached $ 4 billion in 2005. More than 20 million Germans take vitamins or dietary supplements daily.
As a result of this an increasing number of different dietary supplement products (vitamins, minerals, herbal extracts, etc.) can be purchased at grocery stores, health food stores, drug stores or can be ordered online.
Yet despite the popularity of dietary supplements to promote a better health, not everyone who uses them is well informed about all of their properties. An overused consumption and even regular supplementation with e.g. vitamin E, beta carotene and vitamin A may increase health risks.
Although they are widely used, the consumtion of dietary supplements is controversial in relation to their efficacy and safety and much recent research has been published considering these questions. However, despite several scientific studies and the broad media coverage, consumers are still confused with the often contradictory information. And in some cases there is still lack of evidence that dietary supplements have positive health effects. Altogether the regulation of dietary supplements is still insufficient and yet there is no registration approval nessecary to sell dietary supplement products in the market.
Fundings and Cooperations
The research project is funded by the Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) within the social ecological research (SÖF) programme "Strategies to Cope with Systemic Risks". The project is accomplished by the Munich Institute for Social and Sustainability Research (MPS) and the Environment Science Center (WZU) at the University of Augsburg (WZU) in cooperation with the Software and Consulting GmbH (SoUCon).
To guarantee a problem-oriented analysis of the case studies and an adequate transfer of information into politics, industry, academia etc. cooperations are arranged with several practice partners fom different sectors: World Environment Center (WEC, Washington), gemeinnützige Gesellschaft für Kommunikations- und Kooperationsforschung mbH (DIALOGIK, Stuttgart), International Risk Governance Council (IRGC, Genf), Münchner Rück AG (München), Bayerisches Landesamt für Gesundheit und Lebensmittelsicherheit (Dept. Forschungskoordination und Risikoanalyse, Erlangen).
Finally the research project is attending the international network of "Cartography of Scientific Controversies" (www.ccscgroup.org) initiated by Prof. Dr. Bruno Latour (École des Mines, Paris) and Dr. Warren Sack (UC Berkeley). The project is also linked to the "Galerie der Forschung" at the Austrian Academy of Sciences under the leadership of Dr. Albena Yaneva.
Project 2: The political relevance of the Internet-based visualisation of risk-related controversies
This project is aimed at gaining insights into the generation of controversial knowledge and testing new ways of preparing political decisions on risk-policy issues. The tool 'risk mapping' will be used to support participatory opinion-making and decision-making processes.
Using dietary supplements and nanoscale materials as case studies, various types of risk knowledge from a number of sources (expert knowledge, layman's knowledge, the knowledge of decision-makers such as risk managers in the political sector and in industry) are being gathered, placed in context with one another and structured with the help of mapping tools.
Background
Actual and presumed hazards such as nanoscale materials and dietary supplements open up wide areas for public and (sub-) political debates on risk. These engender sprawling arenas consisting of expert reports, counter-reports and presentations in the media which, due to their complexity and dynamics, are increasingly difficult to access for all societal players. Used as a guiding keyword for the research done in this connection, the term 'systemic risks' directs particular attention to the dynamics and mutability of these risks, two attributes that make changes in risk management a necessity: The participatory mapping of risk debates should in the context of this project enable risk monitoring that is more integrative.
Project objectives
In light of this, the first objective of this project is to test a prototype for Internet-based risk mapping that was developed in a preceding project. This prototype will be tested in participatory opinion-making and decision-making processes (keyword: experimental democracy). The second objective is to develop statements, with the help of this tool and an analysis of the participatory processes, about the generation of knowledge, about the development of knowledge classification systems and about knowledge dynamics.
Steps
As a first step, the existing risk-mapping prototype from the preceding project will have to be further developed and opened up to make it a user-friendly, participation-based tool for generating knowledge and for visualising debates on risks. Three workshops will then be conducted with stakeholder groups (experts, political decision-makers, representatives from trade and industry, NGOs, consumers) for each of the two case studies under examination in order to gain further insights into the individual and collective generation of knowledge that is of relevance to the respective risk. A fourth and final synthesis workshop will subsequently be held to bring together the different stakeholder groups' points of view on each case study. The visualisations developed during these workshops and the attendant process of generating them will be examined with an eye to different knowledge classification systems.
Case studies
1. Nanoscale materials
Particles with extremely small diameters often exhibit new kinds of properties. Many are already being used today in a wealth of consumer products and technical products. It is known from past experience with asbestos that small particles can have an adverse effect on health even when the particular material is otherwise not toxic. In light of this, there is a debate on the risks inherent in nanomaterials that is growing in tandem with the number of consumer products that have been enhanced with them.
2. Dietary supplements
The market for dietary supplements is booming. A growing - for consumers, virtually incalculable - number of preparations (such as vitamins, plant extracts) is commercially available today. However, many of the positive effects they are said to possess have not been scientifically proven to a sufficient extent. Excessive dosages can bring health risks. The legal regulations that are currently in place have been full of gaps to date and licensing is not required.
Collaboration with the international network MApping COntroversies On Science for POlitics - MACOSPOL, a research initiative directed by Professor Bruno Latour.
