Bøger i Science Studies serien

Repair, reuse and disposal are closely interlinked phenomena related to the service lives and persistence of technologies. When technical artefacts become old and worn out, decisions have to be taken: is it necessary, worthwhile or even possible to maintain and repair, reuse or dismantle them - or must they be discarded? These decisions depend on factors such as the availability of second-hand markets, repair infrastructures and dismantling or disposal facilities. In telling the stories of China's power grid, Canadian telephones, German automobiles and India's shipbreaking business, among others, the contributions in this volume highlight the persistence of technologies and show that maintenance and repair are not obsolete in modern industries and consumer societies.

The big societal challenges, such as climate change and public health, call for innovative approaches to address them. The contributors of this book present new ways to tackle these challenges by inter- and transdisciplinary collaborations in light weight engineering. They introduce a framework for transdisciplinary collaboration, explore the potential of light weight engineering in the areas of climate protection, resource efficiency, and sustainable mobility. To do so, they exemplify results and limitations of transdisciplinary collaboration based on three case studies: the optimization of rescue tools, the re-design of products to foster re-use and recycling processes in companies and society, and the additive manufacturing of individualized assistive tools and prostheses.

Complex problems and ambitious goals are often thought to become easier by enlarging and diversifying the group of experts dealing with them. As a result, these complex entities are fragmented into smaller ones that can be dealt with by single laboratories. Bart Penders ventured into nutrition science to observe and join teams of scientists to find out what happens to these problems and goals. He attended conferences and workshops and worked in their laboratories. He shows that scientists mobilise everything in their power to solve problems: they reconstruct elements of the problem, such as our health. In the process, the search for health has led to its diversification.

As a reaction to typically dead-end debates on future human and robot collaboration that tend to be either dismissive or overly welcoming towards »cobot« technologies, this book provides a technofeminist intervention. Pat Treusch not only shows how both the fields of technofeminism and robotics can engage in a practical exchange through knitting, but also contributes a tangible example of coboting dynamics. Robotic Knitting re-negotiates the boundaries between formalisation and embodiment, craft and high-tech as well as useful and dysfunctional machines. It re-crafts the nature of collaboration between human and robot. This finally entails an alternative mode of relating - a mode that enables an account of careful coboting.

Research in the field of neurotechnology raises ethical and societal questions and thus represents a particular challenge for public engagement efforts. How should formats of public outreach be shaped to encourage public reflection on science? How can the one-way nature of communication between the expert and lay people be overcome?The anthology introduces a special concept of public outreach relying on participatory events that create a productive overlap of the fields of science and art. The contributors from various disciplines discuss the relationship of both spheres, present current science/art initiatives and locate this transdisciplinary approach within the debate on public engagement theories and higher education policy specifications.

New knowledge, created in international cooperation, is essential for global sustainability. Set against this background, this study focuses on German science policy for research cooperation with developing countries and emerging economies in sustainability research. Based on interviews with policy makers and researchers, the book scrutinizes the actors, processes and contents of science policy in Germany. The author argues that science policy mainly aims at German economic benefits and technology development. This, however, negatively influences global sustainability. To counter existing path dependencies, the author provides recommendations for sustainability-oriented scientific practice and science policy.

Deals with the interaction of aesthetic and technological dimensions within the formation of contemporary society. This book discusses the production of time and space, self and nature, individual and society in the image of technology.