Suchergebnisse

Abstract In this paper, we examine three unanticipated findings from a social constructionist analysis of popular media coverage of the pesticide DDT from the years 1944 to 1961. The first unanticipated finding was the early (1945) appearance of negative or cautionary claims in the media source examined, the New York Times. Second, while negative or cautionary claims about the pesticide did constitute a minority voice during this time period, it was nonetheless a persistent voice. The third unanticipated finding was the predominance of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the State Agricultural Experiment Stations among those claimsmakers initially cautioning potential users about unintended and potentially deleterious impacts. The concept of "routine monitoring mechanisms" is introduced to explain this third finding. We conclude by considering the potential impact of this coverage on the subsequent development of the controversy.

Introduction of biotechnologies, particularly genetically modified (GM) technologies, have led to varying public responses from the government, general public and concerned farmers who use the technological products at the field level. Introduction of Bt cotton in India over the last five years generated considerable debate from the time open field testing of Bt cotton commenced towards the late 1990s. This paper is a modest attempt to map the contours of this debate and analyse it from a sociological perspective of the actors. Most significantly, actors in government and industries express trust in the ar rangements governing biotechnology, while actors in civil society point out problems with the functioning of the relevant governing bodies. We first present a brief overview of the events of the controversy, and then proceed with the body of our study.

ABSTRACT Participation by stakeholders in fisheries management has become widely accepted. It is held that it increases both the effectiveness and the legitimacy of management. Many empirical studies of fisheries management, however, have found that political struggles over the profits from fishing drive management decisions. The present paper looks to sociological debates about agency, structure, and embeddedness for guidance in theorizing about the social dimensions of fisheries management in a way that considers both the need for participation and the political economy of the fishery. It argues that focusing on the effect that economic and political structures have on communications between stakeholder groups is one way to link participation and political economy, and we present the management of the Nile perch on Lake Victoria in Tanzania as a case study. The paper evaluates potentials for participatory management by asking how changes in economic and political realities affect stakeholders'claims about the resource, create social distances that affect communications, and privilege particular claims and perspectives. The paper concludes that management measures are undercut when they ignore the needs of groups excluded from the resource. Effective management of the Nile perch fishery is possible, but would require changes in the approaches of the responsible agencies.