SGER: Nanotechnology and Biotechnology: Understanding Responses of U.S. and Canadian Citizens

这项工程、科学和技术的社会层面的探索性研究小额赠款提案要求适度的资金，以利用美国参与一个国际项目，该项目涉及加拿大、美国，可能还有英国和其他欧洲公民对纳米技术和生物技术的反应。加拿大生物技术秘书处(CBS)曾在2003年和2004年两次在美国和加拿大就生物技术问题进行调查研究。计划在2005年初(2月)进行第三次比较研究。第三项比较研究的目的是(A)纳入CBS工作以前没有考虑的纳米技术；(B)设计纳入美国的焦点小组工作，以前只在加拿大进行；(C)打算在机会出现时与英国和更广泛的欧洲研究协调，使用平行方法和伦敦经济学院(LSE)正在制定的主题。此外，该项目还在哥伦比亚广播公司的支持下，收集了美国和加拿大的相关媒体数据。迫切需要资金来及时扩大美国的数据收集(焦点小组)，以便可以更直接地比较美国和加拿大，并获得更好的见解。随后将为2005年2月9日的探索性研究和社区发展竞赛向NSF的人文和社会维度计划提出建议，以及未来可能的SDEST建议。这项工作的总体目标是巩固、扩大和进一步发展一支由社会科学家和政策分析师组成的国际团队，他们对公众对一系列新兴技术的反应感兴趣。这项工作的学术价值在于，它将利用一个独特的机会，收集关于普通(“非科学家”或非科学家)公众对纳米技术和生物技术等新兴技术的反应的比较数据，包括有机会了解生物技术和纳米技术在这方面的相似和不同之处。更广泛的影响是，它有可能帮助形成国家和国际两级的政策和传播战略。它还将促进维持和扩大一个先前存在的国际研究小组，研究文化、国家政策、媒体报道和公众对新技术的反应之间的关系。

This Societal Dimensions of Engineering, Science and Technology Small Grants for Exploratory Research proposal requests modest funding to leverage U.S. participation in an international project involving Canadian, U.S., and potentially U.K. and other European citizens responses to both nanotechnology and biotechnology. Survey research in the U.S. and Canada on biotechnology issues has been conducted by the Canadian Biotechnology Secretariat (CBS) on two previous occasions in 2003 and 2004. A third comparison study is planned for early 2005 (February). This third comparison study is (a) designed to include nanotechnology, not previously considered in CBS work; (b) designed to include focus group work in the U.S., previously conducted only in Canada; and (c) intended to be coordinated, as opportunities arise, with U.K. and broader European studies using parallel methodology and topics being developed at the London School of Economics (LSE). Additionally, the project is collecting relevant media data in the U.S. and Canada, also with CBS support. Funding is urgently needed to expand U.S. data collection (focus groups) in a timely way, so that the U.S. and Canada can be more directly compared and better insights gained. This will be followed by a proposal to the NSF Human and Social Dimensions program for the February 9, 2005, Exploratory Research and Community Development competition, as well as a possible future SDEST proposal. The overall goal of this work is to solidify, extend, and further develop an international team of social scientists and policy analysts interested in public responses to a range of emerging technologies. The intellectual merit of this work is that it will capitalize on a unique opportunity to collect comparative data on how the general ("lay" or non-scientist) public responds to emerging technologies such as nanotechnology and biotechnology, including the opportunity to gain perspective on how biotechnology and nanotechnology are alike and different in this regard. The broader impact is that it has the potential to help shape policy and communication strategies at the national and international levels. It will also facilitate the maintenance and expansion of a pre-existing international research team pursuing questions of the relationship between culture, national policy, media coverage and public responses to new technologies.