LamprouMemo34

Memo 34 Comparative Position Jasanoff, S. (2005). __Designs on Nature: Science and Democracy in Europe and the United States.__ Princeton University Press. The book by Jasanoff is a comparative study between Germany, Britain, and the U.S. in the case of biotechnology and life sciences. Focusing on the different political cultures and how those cultures differently affect the policy outcomes in each country. My book presents a comparative study but my focus is more in processes of standards harmonization and the developing of a common language concerning nanotechnology. Even though differences in the development of the U.S. and the E.U. occur those different cultures have to come together or confront each other in harmonization processes. At the same time the open spaces for discussion and how the public participates in those discussions is one of the driving forces. My book is not about the understanding of science and what the pubic come to find believable as it concerns nanotechnology, but rather how the public engages in the processes themselves and how affects the outcomes differently in the different countries. A collection of assays concerning public participation and how democratic those processes are. Participation is one of the main themes of my book but I explore it in a more global sense where lay knowledge has a global application. Harmonization processes are not a local issue and participation there is not as simple as it is in cases where the public is directly affected. Bingen, J. and L. Busch, eds. (2005). __Agricultural Standards: The Shape of the Global Food and Fiber System.__ Dordrecht: Springer. Standards is the main focus of my book along with books of standards it views the issue not as a technological one but as a sociotechnical. Standards define ways of living and acting and even thought there are many books on standards no book on nanotechnology standards has been published yet. A necessary addition concerning a fast evolving field.
 * Kleinman, D. L. eds. ( ** 2000). **__ Science, Technology, and Democracy __**** . **Albany State University of New York Press.