Title: Boffins and burgers: the relationship between scientific knowledge and public consumption

Authors: Linda Hadfield

Addresses: Greengauge Consultancy, UK

Abstract: BSE is one of a number of issues which have called into question the relationships between science, policy and public perceptions. This paper is part of an on-going project to develop a method for investigating such issues. The transcripts of the UK public inquiry into BSE are used as a case study to investigate the generation and transmission of scientific knowledge, and its codification in policy, by focusing on the low level processes by which information is transferred between individuals and institutions. Early analysis suggests that both institutional structures and individual experience and judgement are important in the discovery and implementation of scientific knowledge.

Keywords: scientific knowledge; public consumption; policy; public perception; UK public inquiry; BSE; mad cow disease; bovine spongiform encephalopathy; knowledge transfer; institutional structures; individual experience; individual judgement; United Kingdom.

DOI: 10.1504/IER.2000.053857

Interdisciplinary Environmental Review, 2000 Vol.2 No.1, pp.39 - 57

Published online: 13 May 2013 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article