Biotechnology in the Austrian Public Discourse

The present project is planned as a contribution to furthering understanding of public opinion and its impact on the continued growth and development of biotechnology in Austria and it is intended as an integral part of a major international and comparative research initiative. It aims to study public discourse on biotechnology in policy making, media coverage and public perceptions. It will describe the evolution of national political and public debates about biotechnology; this is termed "public discourse" about biotechnology. It consists of three interdependent parts. The statistical, sociological and social psychological analysis and interpretation of the Austrian Eurobarometer survey, a longitudinal media analysis covering the last 20 years, and a cross-sectional media analysis covering two significant periods during the last 3 years, and a historical policy analysis of the last 20 years on Biotechnology. The studies on policy controversies and mass media coverage on .biotechnology from 1973 to 1996 will be employed to provide systematic contextual information with which to evaluate and interpret the Eurobarometer survey data in the Austrian context. The project looks at the state of affairs and future prospects for biotechnology in Austria. The aim is to provide a systematic analysis of public discourse on biotechnology as a contribution to the development of instruments and policies which will carry the consent of the Austrian public. In so doing it will make a contribution to an informed and balanced debate in Austria on issues related to biotechnology. The plans for exploitation are directed towards the dissemination of the results of the project to key actors in the biotechnology arena such as the media and educational institutions, political groups and their representatives, and consumer and environmental organizations. A detached and authoritative input to the broader public debate will contribute constructively to biotechnology policy-making.