Download or read book Controversy written by Dorothy Nelkin and published by SAGE Publications, Incorporated. This book was released on 1984 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Updated and revised to fit the controversial issues of the nineties, the third edition of Dorothy Nelkin's Controversy addresses such hot topics as the diet-cancer dispute, animal rights, oil spill cleanups, genetic testing, surrogacy, and AIDS testing. Nelkin and a distinguished list of contributors explore the political values and beliefs that underlie decisions about science and technology. The rhetoric and tone have shifted, as have the controversies, to a growing expression of moral and ideological sentiments. How is public policy formulated in the absence of clear-cut agreement on goals? What ethical conundrums are involved when conflicting values are at stake? By studying the controversies presented here, students capture a sense of the reasoning that motivates public agencies, government officials, scientists, and protest groups. They also have the opportunity to realistically understand science and technical policy, its social and political context, and its impact on the individuals, on particular communities, and on the general public. Controversy will prove stimulating reading for students and professionals in science and technology studies, sociology, political science, health, ethics, and peace and conflict studies.