The Situated Materiality of Scientific Practices

For about 20 years, a rather wide range of conceptual approaches to the social study of science and technology have emerged which have occasionally been labelled "postconstructivist". Although these conceptions differ in various respects, they have in common a twofold opposition: against traditional representationalist realism as well as "classical" social constructivism established by the "sociology of scientific knowledge" (SSK). In order to escape the pitfalls of both these views (and to overcome the familiar, yet unfruitful opposition between them), postconstructivist perspectives understand and study the sciences primarily in term of their situated material and discursive practices. The present article starts with a brief retrospect on why and how since the mid-1980s postconstructivist trends have questioned not only rationalist and realist accounts but also the conceptual foundations and background assumptions of SSK s claim to explain sociologically the content of science. Subsequently, the central features of a postconstructivist perspective in science studies are outlined, referring to the key concepts of "knowledge", "practice", and "performativity". The fruitfulness of a theoretical approach focusing on scientific practices is illustrated using the example of the increasingly important issue of scientific non-knowledge: In the same way that knowledge is not to be comprehended as simply the mental "possession" of a knower, non-knowledge is not merely the lack thereof but an (unrecognised) implication of materially and socially situated research practices. Finally, it is emphasised that postconstructivist science studies should not be misunderstood as claiming (as do realism and constructivism) to provide a meta-theoretical explanation or legitimation of science. Instead, postconstructivism should be conceived as a situated critical effort to challenge one-sided accounts of scientific knowledge and foster more self-reflective research practices

How to Make the Mode 2 Thesis Sociologically More Robust?

Over the last years, the intense and vivid debates which had developed around the so called mode 2 thesis after the publication of “The New Production of Knowledge” (Gibbons et al. 1994) and “Re-Thinking Science” (Nowotny et al. 2001) seem to have significantly abated. Nevertheless, the controversial issues that were raised in those disputes are, of course, far from settled or out-dated. Quite to the contrary, the questions concerning the changing relations of science and society and the potential emergence of new forms of knowledge production and expertise, termed “socially robust knowledge” and “socially distributed expertise” by Nowotny et al. (2001), still are highly relevant for STS. Given this background, the publication of Monika Kurath’s (2009) and Janus Hansen’s (2009) papers in the last issue of STI-Studies offers a good chance to reconsider these issues from some temporal distance. In my comment, I will make some remarks on how the mode 2 thesis is addressed and criticised in each of the two papers and then, in my short conclusion, argue for a primarily heuristic use of this thesis and the concepts mentioned above

Social Inequalities Beyond the Modern Nature-Society-Divide?

Due to the accelerated dynamics of scientific and technological modernisation over the last few decades, the sharp and unambiguous categorical distinction and separation between "nature" and "society" that has been essential for the selfperception of Western modernity is increasingly subject to erosion or even dissolution. The article aims to explore the possible consequences of this blurring of boundaries with regard to the generation, social perception, and justification of social inequalities in "reflexive modern" societies. Using the examples of cosmetic surgery and predictive genetic testing, current tendencies of a seemingly paradoxical "renaturalisation" of inequality are outlined: contrary as well as parallel to the modern programme and promise of a "denaturalisation of society" (Jürgen Habermas), "natural" characteristics such as physical appearance or genetic constitution are gaining importance in terms of social distinction and discrimination. One should, however, not fail to see that this renaturalisation is not simply a revival of older (if by no means definitely overcome) forms of social inequalities based on (presumedly) natural collective categories (sex, race, ethnicity and so on). Rather, a hybrid, scientifically and technically manufactured human "nature" becomes a medium of novel forms of "individualised" discrimination: physical characteristics are no longer ascribed to certain groups or people as their inalterable natural qualities, but are increasingly conceived of as open to fashioning and therefore as socially achieved by the individual person. For this reason, the new inequalities "beyond" the modern nature-society divide are apparently not considered fundamentally illegitimate or "pre-modern". What seems to be needed in present-day societies is the establishment of new, socially accepted regulations and boundaries for the complex and intertwined dynamics of denaturalisation and renaturalisation of the social

Innovationen für Nachhaltigkeit : Ergebnisse aus dem niederländischen Förderprogramm "Nachhaltige technische Entwicklung"

Innovationen gelten - so auch die Enquetekommission „Schutz des Menschen und der Umwelt" - als entscheidender Schlüssel zum Erreichen einer nachhaltigen Wirtschafts- und Lebensweise. Doch welche Innovationen tragen zu einer nachhaltigen Entwicklung bei, und wie können sie systematisch gefördert werden

Nature of mixed infection type 2(5) observed in rye (Secale cereale L.) plants carrying the Pr1 leaf-rust resistance gene

Bei der Inokulation von Trägern des dominanten Braunrostresistenzgens Pr1 mit einer komplexen Braunrostpopulation kommt es vorwiegend zur Entwicklung eines gemischten Infektionstyps IT 2(5). In der hier vorgestellten Studie wurde die Entstehung dieses gemischten Infektionstyps untersucht. Die Ergebnisse belegen, dass IT 2(5) weder durch partielle Dominanz des Resistenzgens Pr1, noch durch Einflüsse des genetischen Hintergrundes verursacht wird. Die Entstehung von IT 2(5) liegt vielmehr in der Existenz einer Pr1-virulenten Braunrostrasse im verwendeten Inokulum begründet, die in einer niedrigen Frequenz auftritt. Mit Hilfe eines einfachen Versuchsansatzes wurde die Frequenz der Pr1-virulenten Braunrostrasse in der verwendeten Braunrostpopulation geschätzt. Hierbei wurden vergleichende Blattsegmenttests von Pr1-Trägern und Genotypen ohne Pr1 durch­geführt und die bei beiden Genotypen erfassten Pustelanzahlen zueinander in Beziehung gesetzt. Im vorliegenden Fall wurde für die Pr1-virulente Braunrostrasse innerhalb einer im Feld gesammelten lokalen Braunrostpopulation eine Frequenz von 3,19% geschätzt. Durch ein Validierungsexperiment, in dem eine aus einer Pr1-virulenten und einer Pr1-avirulenten Braunrostrasse erstellte Rostpopulation eingesetzt wurde, konnte die geschätzte Frequenz bestätigt werden.When challenged with a complex leaf-rust inoculum, rye plants carrying the dominant leaf-rust resistance gene Pr1 predominantly react with a mixed infection type, IT 2(5). The present study investigates the nature of this mixed infection type. The results demonstrate, that IT 2(5) is not caused by partial dominance of Pr1 nor by the genetic background. Rather, IT 2(5) reflects the occurrence of Pr1-virulent leaf-rust races among the inoculum in low frequency. A simple approach was followed to estimate the frequency of Pr1-virulent races in a leaf-rust population. This approach included comparative detached-leaf testing of Pr1 carriers and Pr1-deficient genotypes and relating the numbers of pustules observed on both genotypes. For the present case we estimated a frequency of 3.19% of Pr1-virulent leaf-rust races among a local leaf-rust population sampled in the field. This estimate was verified in a validation experiment

Resistance to anthracnose in narrow-leafed lupin (Lupinus angustifolius L.): sources of resistance and development of molecular markers

Zuchtlinien und Genbankakzessionen der Blauen Lupine wurden unter Anwendung eines zuverlässigen und standardisierten Resistenztests unter Gewächshausbedingungen auf Anthraknose-Resistenz evaluiert. Während alle getesteten deutschen Blaulupinensorten sich als anfällig erwiesen, konnten zwei Zuchtlinien mit hoher Widerstandsfähigkeit gegenüber Colletotrichum lupini identifiziert werden. Eine dieser Linien wurde bislang im Feldversuch getestet, wo sich ihre hohe Resistenz bestätigte. Es wurde mit dem Aufbau von F2-Kartierungspopulationen für die genetische Analyse dieser möglicherweise neuen Anthraknose-Resistenz begonnen. Für die Kartierungsarbeiten stehen vor allem 150 genbasierte molekulare Marker der University of Western Australia zur Verfügung. Darüber hinaus werden die Genomdaten der leguminosen Modellgenome von Medicago truncatula und Lotus japonicus für die Entwicklung zusätzlicher molekularer Marker in der Blauen Lupine genutzt.Breeding lines and genebank accessions were screened for novel anthracnose resistances by use of a reliable and standardized resistance test under greenhouse conditions. While all the German cultivars tested proved to be susceptible, two breeding lines were identified which displayed strong resistance to Colletotrichum lupini. One of these was subsequently tested in the field and strong resistance could be confirmed. F2 populations for the mapping of the potentially novel resistances were started to be set up. For mapping purposes, 150 gene-based molecular markers provided by M. Nelson (University of Western Australia, Perth) are being used. Sequence information from the Medicago truncatula and Lotus japonicus genomes is also addressed to develop additional molecular markers in narrow-leafed lupin