Introduction: The Dynamics of Epistemic Communities

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Learning conversions in science: The case of vocational students in the UK

The paper describes two aspects of a research project that focused on vocational science students. The paper begins with a general description of vocational science in the UK, to put the work in context. It then outlines an analysis of the ways in which these students approach problems involving converting between units of measurement. Finally the development and evaluation of computer‐based activities designed to support students in learning about unit conversion are described

Multiple human herpesvirus-8 infection

In Malawian patients with Kaposi sarcoma (KS) and their relatives, we investigated nucleotide-sequence variation in human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8) subgenomic DNA, amplified from oral and blood samples by use of polymerase chain reaction. Twenty-four people had amplifiable HHV-8 DNA in >1 sample; 9 (38%) were seropositive for human immunodeficiency virus type 1, 21 (88%) were anti-HHV-8-seropositive, and 7 (29%) had KS. Sequence variation was sought in 3 loci of the HHV-8 genome: the internal repeat domain of open-reading frame (ORF) 73, the KS330 segment of ORF 26, and variable region 1 of ORF K1. Significant intraperson/intersample and intrasample sequence polymorphisms were observed in 14 people (60%). For 3 patients with KS, intraperson genotypic differences, arising from nucleotide sequence variations in ORFs 26 and K1, were found in blood and oral samples. For 2 other patients with KS and for 9 people without KS, intraperson genotypic and subgenotypic differences, originating predominantly from ORF K1, were found in oral samples; for the 2 patients with KS and for 4 individuals without KS, intrasample carriage of distinct ORF K1 sequences also were discernible. Our findings imply HHV-8 superinfection

‘You're looking for different parts in a jigsaw’: foetal MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) as an emerging technology in professional practice

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) was first introduced into clinical practice during the 1980s. Originally used as a diagnostic tool to take pictures of the brain, spine, and joints, it is now used to visualise a range of organs and soft tissue around the body. Developments in clinical applications of the technology are rapid and it is often viewed as the ‘gold standard’ in many areas of medicine. However, most existing sociological work on MRI tends to focus on the profession of radiology; little is known about the impact of MRI on a broader range of clinical practice. This paper focuses on MRI use in pregnancy, a relatively new application of the technology. Drawing on empirical research with a range of health professionals (from radiologists to pathologists) in the North of England, this paper asks: how do different types of health professionals engage with the technology and to what end? It will argue that MRI use in pregnancy offers an increasingly important piece of the diagnostic jigsaw, often acting as a bridging technology between medical specialties. The implications of this will be explored in the context of broader sociological debates on the ‘visualisation’ of medicine and its impact on professionals

A ‘living’ guide to fostering collaborative practices in RENEW. Iteration 1.0 (March 2023)

The RENEW project has its foundations in interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary collaboration, that is, research reaching across disciplines and beyond academia. This document aims to facilitate consideration of, and guide, collaborative practices within and around RENEW. It will act as a ‘living’ resource for RENEW members and partners to use and feed into; this is the first of several planned versions that the Collaboration in Practice team will produce through the project lifetime. In addition to internal versions, at a later stage, drawing on collective learning in RENEW, we will develop this into a publicly available manifesto for collaborative practice, building on other manifestos about wildlife conservation, and interdisciplinarity across natural and social sciences. This first iteration provides several prompts and working recommendations, based on our review of the academic literature and ‘best practice’ reports on interdisciplinarity, co-production, and other modes of research that bring together people from diverse disciplines and sectors. It is a start point, so please contact the authors - the Collaboration in Practice (X3) team of RENEW (https://renewbiodiversity.org.uk/) if you have feedback, additions, amendments, or related ideas

Lessons being learned between the Covid-19 pandemic and radiological emergencies: report from experts’ discussions

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available on open access from IOP Publishing via the DOI in this recordIn order to examine what lessons radiological emergency management may offer to the Covid-19 pandemic management and vice versa, a series of three online webinars were conducted with leading experts, scholars and practitioners from a wide range of disciplines essential for emergency management and long-term risk governance. The first webinar debated the lessons we are learning from the Covid-19 pandemic for radiological risk communication, the second explored issues around longer-term outcomes of a crisis and how to balance these with short-term actions whilst the third focused on the key challenges of the 'transition phase', using learning from Chernobyl (1986) and Fukushima Daichii (2011) accidents. This paper reviews the discussion and provides valuable lessons for the radiation protection community. Results of the discussion indicated that: i) non-radiological and non-epidemiological consequences of emergencies, e.g. psychological (mental health), societal and economic, should not be underestimated; ii) multidisciplinary expertise is imperative for communication efforts and for effective emergency management, including decision-making in the application of protective measures; iii) stakeholder engagement, including the involvement of the potentially affected population, should be encouraged from an early stage and iv) trust is increased if policy-makers and main science agencies show a unified voice

Taking roles in interdisciplinary collaborations: Reflections on working in post-ELSI spaces in the UK synthetic biology community

Based on criticism of the “ethical, legal and social implications” (ELSI) paradigm, researchers in science and technology studies (STS) have begun to create and move into “post-ELSI” spaces. In this paper, we pool our experiences of working towards collaborative practices with colleagues in engineering and science disciplines in the f eld of synthetic biology. We identify a number of dif erent roles that we have taken, been assumed to take, or have had foisted upon us as we have sought to develop postELSI practices. We argue that the post-ELSI situation is characterised by the demands placed on STS researchers and other social scientists to f uctuate between roles as contexts shift in terms of power relations, af ective tenor, and across space and over time. This leads us to posit four orientations for post-ELSI collaborative practices that could help establish more fruitful negotiations around these roles

Five rules of thumb for post-ELSI interdisciplinary collaborations

In this paper we identify five rules of thumb for interdisciplinary collaboration across the natural and social sciences. We link these to efforts to move away from the ‘ethical, legal and social issues’ framework of interdisciplinarity and towards a post-ELSI collaborative space. It is in trying to open up such a space that we identify the need for: collaborative experimentation, taking risks, collaborative reflexivity, opening-up discussions of unshared goals and neighbourliness