Posted: February 15, 2008 |
Second announcement and call for papers: Managing the uncertainty of nanotechnologies |
(Nanowerk News) Second announcement and call for papers for the conference "Managing the uncertainty of nanotechnologies. Challenges to law, ethics and policy making" in Rovigo, Italy, on May 22-23, 2008.
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The rapid pace of technoscientific development and the growing uncertainty about the impacts of innovation on society question and challenge social insti tutions, values, regulatory frameworks and processes of political decision-making. Emerging technologies, and, in particular, nanotechnologies, promise to amplify the implications of such challenges.
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On the one hand, the nanotechnologies' field is increasingly represented
as ushering in a new industrial revolution replete with greater wealth and
health. On the other, several critical voices have underlined possible
risks associated with nanotechnologies and the current or future changes
they promise.
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This situation is hence characterised by different and somewhat
contrasting evaluations and by the difficulty of empirically-grounded
assessment of the actual impacts of nanotechnologies on human health,
natural environment, economy, etc. Nevertheless, our societies are now
called to make decisions about the best current and future opportunities
offered by nanotechnologies. Our societies are tasked with reducing
contemporary risks and governing the potential risks associated to this
technoscientific field.
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The convergence between the necessity of choice, the uncertainty about the
possible impacts of nanotechnologies, and their transformative potential,
require a heuristic effort to understand current, expected, preferred
changes. The current concepts, ideas, heuristic and regulatory instruments
have to be discussed to assess their adequacy for observing,
understanding, anticipating and, if possible, guiding such changes.
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Panel sessions and call for papers
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Moving from this awareness, the conference intends to offer a
multidisciplinary perspective on three aspects that appear particularly
relevant. Each of them will be discussed in a panel session:
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Panel 1: Nanotechnologies and regulatory issues:
The evaluation of the current regulatory instruments before the challenges
of technoscience, and the identification of possible models of regulation
for nanotechnologies;
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Panel 2: Nanotechnologies, ethics and public policy:
The analysis of the interaction among technoscientific experts,
policymakers and citizens referring to the frame of nano technologies,
with particular attention to the interplay of decision-making, public
discourse, ethical judgement and technical feasibility;
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Panel 3: Nanotechnologies, foresight and the broader future-oriented debate
The discussion of the tools offered by foresight to anticipate
socio-technical change and their relation with the broader public debate
on nanotechnologies.
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Papers focusing on other emerging technological fields are welcome as they
provide exemplary cases and valuable lessons for nanotechnologies.
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Participants
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The following invited participants have confirmed their attendance: Roger
Brownsword, King's College; Geert van Calster, Collegium Falconis,
University of Leuven; Robert Doubleday, University of Cambridge; Harro van
Lente, University of Utrecht; Federico Neresini, University of Padua;
Alfred Nordmann, Darmstadt University of Technology; Elena Pariotti,
University of Padua; Chris Phoenix, Centre for Responsible Nanotechnology;
Cynthia Selin, Arizona State University; Mariachiara Tallacchini, Catholic
Universit of the Sacred Heart in Piacenza.
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Abstract submissions
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Abstracts should be approximately 1000 words in length and be submitted by
February 29, 2008 electronically at [email protected]. Financial assistance
for travel expenditures will be available in select cases. Full
information about the conference and the panel sessions are available at
www.ciga.unipd.it or at [email protected].
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