Study Guide:
Lecture 1:
● What makes a vaccine successful:
○ people: doctors, managers, nurses, administrators
○ infrastructure: cooling, transport, roads, ship, hospitals
○ good and products: needles, liquids, fridges, paper
○ systems and structures: administration, finance, governments
○ knowledge and experience: science, practical experience
● Reasons for remaining unvaccinated?
○ medical reasons
○ struggle to decide between variety of information
○ anti-vax
● How to increase vaccination rates?
○ collaboration between the relevant actors mentioned above
● Vaccines: A debate?
○ sovereignty over your own body vs. protecting public health?
○ What does inclusivity mean in this context?
■ Society right now is not very inclusive in this context. An inclusive
society will respect different views on the issue and come up with
solutions that adapt to the diverse perspectives.
● solution= self test/PCR as a valid document
● S&T: Messy?
○ science and technological development can be described as messy because
we don’t know in which direction technology will develop and if it will
deviate from the original purpose
■ ex: internet, phones, bicycles, The Hela Cell line
● S&T: as part of the solution:
○ climate, sustainability, poverty, inequality, health
● S&T: as part of the problem:
○ pollution, inequalities, unexpected and unwanted effects
● S&T: mismatches with society:
○ minorities, vulnerable groups, only elite benefits
○ ex: cochlear implants
● Gene Edited Babies:
○ solution:
■ solves the issue of prevalence of a disease
■ prevention of disease before birth
○ problem:
■ ethical questions about free choice
● this genetically modified twins will pass on their genetic marker
to future generations and it’s something they did not choose
○ can lead to medical complications
○ mismatch with society:
■ might develop a new genetically modified elite
■ diseases will develop to be seen as a sign of poverty
, ● Views on Technology and Society:
○ Instrumental: society develops and uses technology to reach own goals
■ technology provides control so we can achieve our goals
● natural resources = use or abuse (gun example)
■ Questions asked:
● what is possible (assess the opportunity)
○ technology as an invader
● is it safe, is it effective (ex: Birth control pill):
■ humans and tech are a separate world
■ humans have dominant agency
○ Deterministic: tech development follows its own trajectory, and it impacts
society
■ technology opens a window on reality
● determines how we see, understand, and evaluate reality
■ Tech shapes cultural beliefs (ex: Birth control pill):
● changed the relationship between sex and reproduction
● gender-specific distribution of responsibilities (women)
■ Questions asked
● what is the limit (assess the risks) = ethics decides
■ humans and tech are separate
■ tech has dominant agency
○ Interactive (designing): society and tech influence each other
■ Questions asked:
● What kind of world do we want to live in and what kind of tech
contributes to that world?
■ humans and tech are same
■ humans have dominant agency
○ Interactive (adaptive): society and tech influence each other
■ Questions asked:
● How can society reinvent itself in the context of its
technological development?
■ humans and tech are the same
■ tech has dominant agency
Interaction (values)= shift in public debate
Interaction Vision: Human and tech shape each other
● technological artifacts are build with certain
values and believes in mind
○ mutual shaping = co-production and
co-evolution
● Ex: birth control pill = has been shaped by cultural
beliefs and preferences (opposite from deterministic
view)
○ from anti-menstruation pain to
anti-conception
○ Questions:
■ not focus on risk or opportunities
○ What are the right impacts and how can we get there?
