1st Edition
Collaboration in the New Life Sciences
In recent years the organisation and practice of collaboration in the life sciences has undergone radical transformations, owing to the advent of big science enterprises, newly developed data gathering and storage technologies, increasing levels of interdisciplinarity, and changing societal expectations for science. Collaboration in the New Life Sciences examines the causes and consequences of changing patterns of scientific collaboration in the life sciences. This book presents an understanding of how and why collaboration in the life sciences is changing and the effects of these changes on scientific knowledge, the work lives and experiences of scientists, social policy and society. Through a series of thematically arranged chapters, it considers the social, technical, and organizational facets of collaboration, addressing not only the rise of new forms of collaboration in the life sciences, but also examining recent developments in two broad research areas: ecology and environment, and the molecular life sciences. With an international team of experts presenting case studies and analyses drawn from the US, UK, Asia and Europe, Collaboration in the New Life Sciences will appeal not only to scholars and students of science and technology studies, but also to those interested in science and social policy, and the sociology of work and organisations.
Biography
Bart Penders is an assistant professor in Biomedine and Society in the Department of Health, Ethics and Society at Maastricht University, the Netherlands. He is co-editor of Collaboration Across Health Research and Medical Care. Niki Vermeulen is Lecturer in the History and Sociology of Science at the University of Edinburgh, UK, and co-editor of Collaboration Across Health Research and Medical Care and Bio-Objects: Life in the 21st Century. John N. Parker is an Honors Faculty Fellow at Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University. He is co-editor of Collaboration Across Health Research and Medical Care.
'A fascinating selection of in-depth studies: varied forms of collaboration make for new big science, and the new life sciences call for new forms of collaboration. This volume combines scholarly originality and insight with relevance for policy makers and the public.' Wiebe E. Bijker, Maastricht University, The Netherlands 'Collaboration in the New Life Sciences could hardly be timelier. Just at the time that researchers have begun to create new collaborative media and dynamics comes this excellent volume, lifting the curtain, and showing us a good measure of the wizardry. The chapters are diverse, are well and richly grounded in emergent theory from Science and Technology Studies and, at the same time, show intimate familiarity with the scientific content that is their focus. Readable and accessible, this book will inform both the social theorist seeking meaning from new collaborative forms, as well as life scientists wishing to reflect more deeply on work routines and their social meaning.' Barry Bozeman, University of Georgia, USA 'The publication of this book, is certainly timely, and the case-studies which it provides on collaborative practices from Asia, Europe and the USA, give insights into scientific practices in these countries. In many ways, the style of writing throughout this book seems to convey that the authors reflected deeply on the socially constructed elements of ’received wisdom’ which prevail in science and policy-making. The book would have some appeal, not only to ecologists and social scientists who are interested in knowledge production. Some practical advice is given on how collaboration works in practice, which could have relevance to scientists in other disciplines and for policy-making. ... Overall, this book makes an important contribution to the literature, laying emphasis on cultural features of collaboration. However, perhaps its greatest achievement is the amount of ideas and questions that the various chapters raise
