Science and technology studies and engineering innovation: the concepts of future and diversity

Abstract

This paper seeks to demonstrate how engineering can benefit from science and technology studies. It focuses on four key issues: responsibility, sustainability, diversity, and public participation. Science and technology studies encompass a plethora of research concerning the various ways that science and technology relate to society. The main area for discussion is the idea that policy makers and practitioners in general must consider the social and the cultural context, alongside specific science, and technology issues. In other words, society, and culture - which constitute the framework for producing, using and engaging with knowledge - are embedded within the fields of science and technology, in multiple manners. It is therefore fundamental to develop innovation in a sustainable and coherent manner.