AZT kill or cure? The social essences of scientific authority.

Grinyer, Anne (1994) AZT kill or cure? The social essences of scientific authority. The Sociological Review, 42 (4). pp. 686-702. ISSN 0038-0261

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Abstract

This paper examines differing institutional responses to and interpretation of the same scientific and medical data, and looks at the way in which policies, ostensibly based upon these interpretations, are presented to public audiences. The case study concerns the use of AZT as a prophylactic for injured health care workers. Data was collected from personal in depth interviews in two health authorities and telephone interviews with a further 35 health authorities. Observations include the fact that widely different interpretations of scientific data by scientific and medical experts is likely to be presented to the lay audience in terms of scientific certainty, based on an institutional need for certainty and consensus. Contrary to conventional perspectives which would suggest that scientific knowledge was completed in its expert arena, then applied in different settings, this analysis suggests that the scientific knowledge is socially 'completed' or 'closed' in each of the different situations in which it is interpreted into practice. Ideal models of both the science and of organisational working practice, appear to have been used as the basis of these different constructions.

Item Type:
Journal Article
Journal or Publication Title:
The Sociological Review
Uncontrolled Keywords:
/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/3300/3312
Subjects:
?? sociology and political sciencer medicine (general) ??
ID Code:
32040
Deposited By:
Users 810 not found.
Deposited On:
03 Mar 2010 14:57
Refereed?:
Yes
Published?:
Published
Last Modified:
15 Jul 2024 10:48