Suchergebnisse

The trials of victory : France, Britain and disarmament after the Great War -- Allies of yesterday : Britain in 1929 -- Security is the guardian of peace : France in 1929 -- An opening clash : reparations and the Rhineland -- Alternative paths : European union, international arbitration and general disarmament at the League Assembly -- The battle of London : the continuing pursuit of naval disarmament -- The problems of 1930 : the Rhineland, arbitration and European union -- Enfin désarmement : the Preparatory Commission concludes -- Annus terribilis : 1931 as a year of crisis -- Missed opportunity : preparing for the World Disarmament Conference -- Collapsing centre : the World Disarmament Conference, 1932-33.

Cover -- Half Title -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- List of Illustrations -- Acknowledgements -- 1 Understanding Innovative Health Technologies -- Introduction -- New technologies, new health? -- Developing the sociological critique -- Structure of the book -- 2 The Dynamics of Biomedical Innovation -- Introduction -- Medical innovation: take up and efficacy -- The clinical professions, the state and innovation -- Contrasting innovation environments -- Conclusion -- 3 Corporate Health, Markets and Regulation -- Introduction -- Corporations and health markets -- The MIC complex -- Regulating corporate health -- Conclusion -- 4 Body, Identity and the Meaning of Health -- Introduction -- The body and sociological analysis -- Unequal bodies -- The sick role -- Narratives of health and illness -- Technology, health and illness -- Case studies: the body-technology nexus -- Conclusion -- 5 Managing and Governing New Health Technologies -- Introduction -- Social organisation of health care delivery -- Governance of health -- Restructuring care: charging, privatisation and self-care -- Conclusion -- 6 The Contested Sick Role -- Introduction -- The sick role as a collectively defined activity -- Alternative health and medicine -- Conclusion -- 7 Conclusion: Novel Technologies, New Social Relations? -- Introduction -- A synopsis of the argument -- Novelty: so what's new? -- Sociological prognoses -- Bibliography -- Author Index -- Subject Index.

Created in early 1921, the Temporary Mixed Commission on Armaments was a committee of eminent figures formed by the League of Nations to consider the problem of international disarmament in its widest aspects and to suggest potential initiatives, plans and solutions. What made it unique was that its members were specifically appointed as private individuals, unrestrained by formal instructions from governments. They were intended to be free to put forward ideas and opinions that seemed most likely to produce real progress but which might have created political turmoil if they had come from official representatives. To some contemporary observers this extraordinary degree of independence was tremendously appealing; to others, the lack of accountability on an issue of supreme importance to the national security of member states was desperately objectionable. In practice, much of the commission's work resolved into a battle between interventionist British members and resistant French members, led respectively by Lord Robert Cecil and Colonel Edouard Réquin, with its most prominent outcome being the failed 1923 draft Treaty of Mutual Assistance. A fascinating experiment in the possibilities of transnationalism within an international organization, the Temporary Mixed Commission on Armaments both exemplified the fluidity of the League of Nations in its early years and showed the limited results a transnational approach could achieve on as contentious an issue as disarmament.

This short article provides a response to Nowotny and Wynne's commentary on an earlier article by the author that examined the relation between science and technology studies (STS) and science policy. The article offers a reply with respect to understanding the domain of science policy; how Nowotny and Wynne seek to broaden the scope and so critical leverage of STS beyond the "policy room"; and the implications this has for the ways in which an STS/non-STS nexus might be configured in the future.

This article discusses the relationship between a deconstructivist method in science and technology studies (STS) and the more recent moves towards a reconstructivist engagement with science and science policy making. Drawing on examples from the author's own research, the article identifies three forms of engagement and their relative utility and limitations. The article argues that these are typical of STS work that seeks direct engagement with science policy making and which could form the basis for a more "serviceable STS" that retains its critical and independent perspective on science. The paper concludes by arguing that the analysis has important implications for the ways in which STS expertise can articulate with science policy making.