This paper analyses the ranking of universities within the socio-political context of neoliberalism and the organisational context of new managerialism. It examines the forces that have facilitated the emergence of the ranking industry and the ideologies underpinning the so-called 'global' university rankings. What the paper shows is that rankings are a politically inspired mode of governance; they are designed to ensure that universities are regulated and con- trolled in accordance with market values. The seemingly objective character of rankings, in par- ticular the use of numbers, creates an impression that what is of value in education can be simply counted, hierarchically ordered and uncontrovertibly judged. The simplicity and accessibility of rankings deflects attention from their political and moral purposes. Rankings are reconstituting the academy, for both academics and students; they are a new mode of external governance through which market values are reframing the social relations of education. They have altered the cognitive and moral frames through which university education is being appraised. The paper calls for a debate on the public interest objectives of universities in the context of growing market regulation.
{"title":"New managerialism, neoliberalism and ranking","authors":"Kathleen Lynch","doi":"10.3354/ESEP00137","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3354/ESEP00137","url":null,"abstract":"This paper analyses the ranking of universities within the socio-political context of neoliberalism and the organisational context of new managerialism. It examines the forces that have facilitated the emergence of the ranking industry and the ideologies underpinning the so-called 'global' university rankings. What the paper shows is that rankings are a politically inspired mode of governance; they are designed to ensure that universities are regulated and con- trolled in accordance with market values. The seemingly objective character of rankings, in par- ticular the use of numbers, creates an impression that what is of value in education can be simply counted, hierarchically ordered and uncontrovertibly judged. The simplicity and accessibility of rankings deflects attention from their political and moral purposes. Rankings are reconstituting the academy, for both academics and students; they are a new mode of external governance through which market values are reframing the social relations of education. They have altered the cognitive and moral frames through which university education is being appraised. The paper calls for a debate on the public interest objectives of universities in the context of growing market regulation.","PeriodicalId":40001,"journal":{"name":"Ethics in Science and Environmental Politics","volume":"13 1","pages":"141-153"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69655109","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Michael Taylor, P. Perakakis, V. Trachana, Stelios Gialis
Global university rankings are a powerful force shaping higher education policy worldwide. Several different ranking systems exist, but they all suffer from the same mathemati- cal shortcomingtheir ranking index is constructed from a list of arbitrary indicators combined using subjective weightings. Yet, different ranking systems consistently point to a cohort of mostly US and UK privately-funded universities as being the 'best'. Moreover, the status of these nations as leaders in global higher education is reinforced each year with the exclusion of world-class uni- versities from other countries from the top 200. Rankings correlate neither with Nobel Prize win- ners, nor with the contribution of national research output to the most highly cited publications. They misrepresent the social sciences and are strongly biased towards English language sources. Furthermore, teaching performance, pedagogy and student-centred issues, such as tuition fees and contact time, are absent from the vast majority of ranking systems. We performed a critical and comparative analysis of 6 of the most popular global university ranking systems to help eluci- date these issues and to identify some pertinent trends. As a case study, we analysed the ranking trajectory of Greek universities as an extreme example of some of the contradictions inherent in ranking systems. We also probed various socio-economic and psychological mechanisms at work in an attempt to better understand what lies behind the fixation on rankings, despite their lack of validity. We close with a protocol to help end-users of rankings find their way back onto more meaningful paths towards assessment of the quality of higher education.
{"title":"Rankings are the sorcerer’s new apprentice","authors":"Michael Taylor, P. Perakakis, V. Trachana, Stelios Gialis","doi":"10.3354/ESEP00146","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3354/ESEP00146","url":null,"abstract":"Global university rankings are a powerful force shaping higher education policy worldwide. Several different ranking systems exist, but they all suffer from the same mathemati- cal shortcomingtheir ranking index is constructed from a list of arbitrary indicators combined using subjective weightings. Yet, different ranking systems consistently point to a cohort of mostly US and UK privately-funded universities as being the 'best'. Moreover, the status of these nations as leaders in global higher education is reinforced each year with the exclusion of world-class uni- versities from other countries from the top 200. Rankings correlate neither with Nobel Prize win- ners, nor with the contribution of national research output to the most highly cited publications. They misrepresent the social sciences and are strongly biased towards English language sources. Furthermore, teaching performance, pedagogy and student-centred issues, such as tuition fees and contact time, are absent from the vast majority of ranking systems. We performed a critical and comparative analysis of 6 of the most popular global university ranking systems to help eluci- date these issues and to identify some pertinent trends. As a case study, we analysed the ranking trajectory of Greek universities as an extreme example of some of the contradictions inherent in ranking systems. We also probed various socio-economic and psychological mechanisms at work in an attempt to better understand what lies behind the fixation on rankings, despite their lack of validity. We close with a protocol to help end-users of rankings find their way back onto more meaningful paths towards assessment of the quality of higher education.","PeriodicalId":40001,"journal":{"name":"Ethics in Science and Environmental Politics","volume":"13 1","pages":"73-99"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69655029","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
In this study, we used culturomics (i.e. analysis of large electronic datasets for the study of human culture) in order to study the use of the names of various universities in the digi- tized corpus of English books. In particular, we used the Google Ngram viewer (available online: http://books.google.com/ngrams) to produce the frequencies of the names of 13 US, 5 UK and 4 Canadian universities in the English books and examined how these frequencies changed with time (1800 to 2008). We further used these frequencies to establish reputation rankings for these universities. Our results showed that Ngram is an easy-and-cheap-to-apply tool to approximate the reputation and 'intellectual' impact of universities over long time periods. Its reputation- generating capability, at least for top universities, is not worse than the within- and between- system capabilities of commercial tools (i.e. QS, THE and THE World Reputation Rankings). Ngram can, thus, be promising at least for students (and their families), who make choices that are affected by rankings, providing them with additional benefits (e.g. perception of the historical impact of a university) when compared to the short-term, volatile annual commercial rankings.
{"title":"Global university reputation and rankings: insights from culturomics","authors":"K. Stergiou, Athanassios C. Tsikliras","doi":"10.3354/ESEP00140","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3354/ESEP00140","url":null,"abstract":"In this study, we used culturomics (i.e. analysis of large electronic datasets for the study of human culture) in order to study the use of the names of various universities in the digi- tized corpus of English books. In particular, we used the Google Ngram viewer (available online: http://books.google.com/ngrams) to produce the frequencies of the names of 13 US, 5 UK and 4 Canadian universities in the English books and examined how these frequencies changed with time (1800 to 2008). We further used these frequencies to establish reputation rankings for these universities. Our results showed that Ngram is an easy-and-cheap-to-apply tool to approximate the reputation and 'intellectual' impact of universities over long time periods. Its reputation- generating capability, at least for top universities, is not worse than the within- and between- system capabilities of commercial tools (i.e. QS, THE and THE World Reputation Rankings). Ngram can, thus, be promising at least for students (and their families), who make choices that are affected by rankings, providing them with additional benefits (e.g. perception of the historical impact of a university) when compared to the short-term, volatile annual commercial rankings.","PeriodicalId":40001,"journal":{"name":"Ethics in Science and Environmental Politics","volume":"13 1","pages":"193-202"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69655214","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Over the past 20 yr, a standard narrative has evolved to describe the impacts of oil development in Ecuador’s Amazon region. According to this narrative, international oil companies exploited weak government oversight to destroy the rain forest and harm native communities. Eventually, Amazonian Indians and environmentalists joined together to fight ‘big oil’ in courts of law and public opinion. This story has been told in countless international campaigns, Internet posts, news and magazine articles, and even in a recent movie. Among North American and European academics, plaintiffs’ lawyers, and journalists, it has now become almost a certainty. Yet many of its assumptions and implications remain unexamined. Are the essential facts true? Should private companies be held accountable for sovereign decisions made by government about oil development and indigenous rights? Why is this discourse so popular in the US, Canada, and Europe, but dismissed by many Ecuadorian social scientists? Using historical evidence and 3 case studies, we conclude that the standard narrative as it stands today obscures more than it explains and may undermine democratic governance in Ecuador.
{"title":"Undermining democratic capacity: myth-making and oil development in Amazonian Ecuador","authors":"S. Reider, R. Wasserstrom","doi":"10.3354/ESEP00142","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3354/ESEP00142","url":null,"abstract":"Over the past 20 yr, a standard narrative has evolved to describe the impacts of oil development in Ecuador’s Amazon region. According to this narrative, international oil companies exploited weak government oversight to destroy the rain forest and harm native communities. Eventually, Amazonian Indians and environmentalists joined together to fight ‘big oil’ in courts of law and public opinion. This story has been told in countless international campaigns, Internet posts, news and magazine articles, and even in a recent movie. Among North American and European academics, plaintiffs’ lawyers, and journalists, it has now become almost a certainty. Yet many of its assumptions and implications remain unexamined. Are the essential facts true? Should private companies be held accountable for sovereign decisions made by government about oil development and indigenous rights? Why is this discourse so popular in the US, Canada, and Europe, but dismissed by many Ecuadorian social scientists? Using historical evidence and 3 case studies, we conclude that the standard narrative as it stands today obscures more than it explains and may undermine democratic governance in Ecuador.","PeriodicalId":40001,"journal":{"name":"Ethics in Science and Environmental Politics","volume":"13 1","pages":"39-47"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2013-12-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69655272","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Every person lives with some relationship to nature, and we all construct a worldview of nature through the balancing of our collective and various ethical worldviews towards nature. The Kingdom of Cambodia in South East Asia has a population of over 14 million people. The geography of the tropical country enables nature to grow vigorously, which offers a source of gen- erally abundant food, and this has affected the worldview of Cambodians. Cambodia is said to be a land of paddies and forests, dominated by the Mekong River and the Tonle Sap lake and river. Having been dependent on nature and facing the questions of ethical development in an indus- trial society, it is important to understand the perceptions of the Angkorian descendants on nature. This paper describes worldviews of nature from Cambodian perspectives with examples of anthropocentrism, biocentrism, ecocentrism, and cosmocentrism.
{"title":"Ethics and Cambodian worldviews on nature","authors":"BunRong Kouy","doi":"10.3354/ESEP00143","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3354/ESEP00143","url":null,"abstract":"Every person lives with some relationship to nature, and we all construct a worldview of nature through the balancing of our collective and various ethical worldviews towards nature. The Kingdom of Cambodia in South East Asia has a population of over 14 million people. The geography of the tropical country enables nature to grow vigorously, which offers a source of gen- erally abundant food, and this has affected the worldview of Cambodians. Cambodia is said to be a land of paddies and forests, dominated by the Mekong River and the Tonle Sap lake and river. Having been dependent on nature and facing the questions of ethical development in an indus- trial society, it is important to understand the perceptions of the Angkorian descendants on nature. This paper describes worldviews of nature from Cambodian perspectives with examples of anthropocentrism, biocentrism, ecocentrism, and cosmocentrism.","PeriodicalId":40001,"journal":{"name":"Ethics in Science and Environmental Politics","volume":"13 1","pages":"49-57"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2013-12-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69655326","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Thailand has been through dynamic changes in the process of globalization, facilitat- ing the emergence of technological advancement in improving healthcare and aesthetic surgery. Nonetheless, new advanced merchandise is marketed through advertisements and popular cul- ture that defines what is facial and bodily perfection and fosters a mindset of improving bodily image. This paper introduces factors that affect the identity of Thai men and women in terms of beauty concepts, and some of the ethical issues involved. The concept of perfection of the body is introduced to entice people to undergo physical transformation. The paper looks at some of the Thai Buddhist norms, myths and societal expectations. Fair skin is an ongoing trend in Asia, and dark skin is generally less preferable. In addition, rhinoplastic surgery is used to reconstruct northeastern Thai noses to conform with a new 'ideal' shape. Women are more likely to be pres- sured into controlling their sexuality as pleasingly beautiful: neither totally seductive nor totally virtuous. Concepts of supremacy have evolved together with norms of beauty in Thai society under the shadow of western colonial advancements in Asia and inter-Asian socio-economic hier- archies. In addition to the stigmatization of certain groups because of racial and class prejudice, media images define people as 'losers' and 'winners' based upon stereotypical characteristics such as whiteness and concepts of ugliness and beauty. More bioethical reflection on the norms of beauty is needed to understand the motives for body enhancement.
{"title":"Thailand: beauty and globalized self-identity through cosmetic therapy and skin lightening","authors":"Napat Chaipraditkul","doi":"10.3354/ESEP00134","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3354/ESEP00134","url":null,"abstract":"Thailand has been through dynamic changes in the process of globalization, facilitat- ing the emergence of technological advancement in improving healthcare and aesthetic surgery. Nonetheless, new advanced merchandise is marketed through advertisements and popular cul- ture that defines what is facial and bodily perfection and fosters a mindset of improving bodily image. This paper introduces factors that affect the identity of Thai men and women in terms of beauty concepts, and some of the ethical issues involved. The concept of perfection of the body is introduced to entice people to undergo physical transformation. The paper looks at some of the Thai Buddhist norms, myths and societal expectations. Fair skin is an ongoing trend in Asia, and dark skin is generally less preferable. In addition, rhinoplastic surgery is used to reconstruct northeastern Thai noses to conform with a new 'ideal' shape. Women are more likely to be pres- sured into controlling their sexuality as pleasingly beautiful: neither totally seductive nor totally virtuous. Concepts of supremacy have evolved together with norms of beauty in Thai society under the shadow of western colonial advancements in Asia and inter-Asian socio-economic hier- archies. In addition to the stigmatization of certain groups because of racial and class prejudice, media images define people as 'losers' and 'winners' based upon stereotypical characteristics such as whiteness and concepts of ugliness and beauty. More bioethical reflection on the norms of beauty is needed to understand the motives for body enhancement.","PeriodicalId":40001,"journal":{"name":"Ethics in Science and Environmental Politics","volume":"13 1","pages":"27-37"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2013-08-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69655006","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Athanassios C. Tsikliras, U. R. Sumaila, K. Stergiou
We describe the analogy between the state of the economic crisis and the state of global fisheries, both of which are timely and important issues. We believe that there are some lessons from the economic crisis that may benefit global fisheries, if viewed and addressed prop- erly. In a wide ethical framework, the crisis in the global fisheries sector should be taken as seri- ously as the economic crisis and confronted with similarly drastic measures. Failure to do so will be followed by multiple ecosystem/resource crises, which may lead to ecosystem bankruptcy, either locally or globally, which in turn will have severe side effects on the global economy.
{"title":"Parallels in economic and ecosystem crises","authors":"Athanassios C. Tsikliras, U. R. Sumaila, K. Stergiou","doi":"10.3354/ESEP00133","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3354/ESEP00133","url":null,"abstract":"We describe the analogy between the state of the economic crisis and the state of global fisheries, both of which are timely and important issues. We believe that there are some lessons from the economic crisis that may benefit global fisheries, if viewed and addressed prop- erly. In a wide ethical framework, the crisis in the global fisheries sector should be taken as seri- ously as the economic crisis and confronted with similarly drastic measures. Failure to do so will be followed by multiple ecosystem/resource crises, which may lead to ecosystem bankruptcy, either locally or globally, which in turn will have severe side effects on the global economy.","PeriodicalId":40001,"journal":{"name":"Ethics in Science and Environmental Politics","volume":"13 1","pages":"23-25"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2013-04-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69655434","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Since prehistory, the genus Homo has used technologies in order to enhance fitness. With the growth of bio-technologies, western medicine is improving the structure and function of the human body beyond its natural state. Bio-technological improvements in the next 50 yr prom- ise further increases in human life span and performance. Notwithstanding the ethical argument encouraging transhumanist technologies, present human societies have yet to come to grips with the possibility of such a future world. This article will discuss future nootropic enhancers and humananimal gene splicing as possible enhancement technologies in relation to their ethical and social implications.
{"title":"Remaking Homo: ethical issues on future human enhancement","authors":"A. Saniotis","doi":"10.3354/ESEP00131","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3354/ESEP00131","url":null,"abstract":"Since prehistory, the genus Homo has used technologies in order to enhance fitness. With the growth of bio-technologies, western medicine is improving the structure and function of the human body beyond its natural state. Bio-technological improvements in the next 50 yr prom- ise further increases in human life span and performance. Notwithstanding the ethical argument encouraging transhumanist technologies, present human societies have yet to come to grips with the possibility of such a future world. This article will discuss future nootropic enhancers and humananimal gene splicing as possible enhancement technologies in relation to their ethical and social implications.","PeriodicalId":40001,"journal":{"name":"Ethics in Science and Environmental Politics","volume":"13 1","pages":"15-21"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2013-03-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69655336","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Human rights are seriously affected by climate change, but children and children's human rights are of most concern. The purpose of this article is to show how climate change and the associated phenomena harm children and their rights. The United Nations Covention on the Rights of the Child is the most universally ratified human rights treaty in the world. It is also one of the most complete ones, as it covers both civil and political rights, as well as socio-economic and cultural rights. This research examines the rights enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in the light of climate change effects. It identifies which children's rights are most affected by climate change. To do this systematically, the rights of this covenant have been categorized into 4 groups: rights which satisfy basic needs (right to life, right to health, right to water, right to food and right to housing); specific children's rights (right to be cared for by par- ents, right to education, right to play, and right to leisure and access to culture); participation rights (right to active participation, right to freedom of expression, association and assembly, accountability and right to an effective remedy); and civil and political rights (right to a nationality, right to birth registration and right to preservation of identity, right to equal protection against dis- crimination, right to privacy and family life and right to property). The article identifies how, which and to what extent rights listed in the covenant are undermined by sudden climate change events, as well as by the gradual consequences of climate change. It shifts the perspective on how we address climate change consequences: from human impacts to real human rights' violations.
{"title":"Children's rights in a changing climate: a perspective from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.","authors":"Susana Sanz-Caballero","doi":"10.3354/ESEP00130","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3354/ESEP00130","url":null,"abstract":"Human rights are seriously affected by climate change, but children and children's human rights are of most concern. The purpose of this article is to show how climate change and the associated phenomena harm children and their rights. The United Nations Covention on the Rights of the Child is the most universally ratified human rights treaty in the world. It is also one of the most complete ones, as it covers both civil and political rights, as well as socio-economic and cultural rights. This research examines the rights enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in the light of climate change effects. It identifies which children's rights are most affected by climate change. To do this systematically, the rights of this covenant have been categorized into 4 groups: rights which satisfy basic needs (right to life, right to health, right to water, right to food and right to housing); specific children's rights (right to be cared for by par- ents, right to education, right to play, and right to leisure and access to culture); participation rights (right to active participation, right to freedom of expression, association and assembly, accountability and right to an effective remedy); and civil and political rights (right to a nationality, right to birth registration and right to preservation of identity, right to equal protection against dis- crimination, right to privacy and family life and right to property). The article identifies how, which and to what extent rights listed in the covenant are undermined by sudden climate change events, as well as by the gradual consequences of climate change. It shifts the perspective on how we address climate change consequences: from human impacts to real human rights' violations.","PeriodicalId":40001,"journal":{"name":"Ethics in Science and Environmental Politics","volume":"13 1","pages":"1-14"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2013-03-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69655286","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Itai-itai disease was first noticed in the Junzu River basin region in Toyama prefec- ture in central Japan around the 1930s. However, it was not identified as a cadmium poisoning dis- ease until the 1960s. A local physician, with cooperation from outside experts, confirmed that the disease was caused by pollution from the Kamioka mine (owned by the Mitsui Mining & Smelting Company Ltd) located in the upstream region of the river. In the mid-1960s, the victims of Itai-itai disease filed a suit against the company and won their case in 1972. The victims received compen- sation and signed a pollution control agreement with the company. The case of Itai-itai disease is a rare example of successful pollution control in Japan: the annual inspections of the ensuing 40 yr, based on the pollution control agreement, show a reduction of cadmium concentrations in the river to natural levels. By analyzing the roles of various experts involved, this case study has con- tributed substantially to an understanding of the nature of expertise and the significance of public participation in the resolution of environmental problems.
{"title":"Role of experts and public participation in pollution control: the case of Itai-itai disease in Japan 1","authors":"M. Kaji","doi":"10.3354/ESEP00126","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3354/ESEP00126","url":null,"abstract":"Itai-itai disease was first noticed in the Junzu River basin region in Toyama prefec- ture in central Japan around the 1930s. However, it was not identified as a cadmium poisoning dis- ease until the 1960s. A local physician, with cooperation from outside experts, confirmed that the disease was caused by pollution from the Kamioka mine (owned by the Mitsui Mining & Smelting Company Ltd) located in the upstream region of the river. In the mid-1960s, the victims of Itai-itai disease filed a suit against the company and won their case in 1972. The victims received compen- sation and signed a pollution control agreement with the company. The case of Itai-itai disease is a rare example of successful pollution control in Japan: the annual inspections of the ensuing 40 yr, based on the pollution control agreement, show a reduction of cadmium concentrations in the river to natural levels. By analyzing the roles of various experts involved, this case study has con- tributed substantially to an understanding of the nature of expertise and the significance of public participation in the resolution of environmental problems.","PeriodicalId":40001,"journal":{"name":"Ethics in Science and Environmental Politics","volume":"12 1","pages":"99-111"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2012-07-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.3354/ESEP00126","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69655144","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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