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Technology Assessment (TA) is a concept of problem-oriented research, policy consulting, and societal dialogue which aims at supporting society and policy making in understanding and managing societal problems resulting from scientific and technological developments. We sketch a brief history of TA which is closely linked to its ‘invention’ as a policy consulting method. On the basis of two examples (Office for Technology Assessment in the USA and Office for Technology Assessment at the German Bundestag in Germany), we will give insights into the heterogeneous political and societal conditions under which TA institutions have been established in the past. After this, we reflect on formats, methods and practices that can help further develop TA as we follow the underlying hypothesis of TA as an approach that has to continuously change and adapt. Thereby, the concept of conferences can be fruitful for the TA community to stay vivid in a continuously changing environment.

Using narrative methodology, we assess the feasibility of the active and independent patient, an image portrayed in Dutch government papers and contested by patient organizations, medical occupational groups and political parties. 109 stories about hospital care from 103 patients were collected online. Storyline analysis resulted in nine experience types that describe prototypical situations in which patients find themselves in the hospital. These nine types offer a rich picture of patient perspectives on quality and safety of hospital care. Being in the hospital creates a tension for the patient. On the one hand, many patients are scared and become silent. On the other hand, many patients feel the need to speak out, and to be involved in their own care trajectory. We argue that this tension cannot be taken away, as it is a part of being a patient in a hospital. Instead, we propose that the hospital system should be designed in such a way that sensitivity for this tension is taken into account. Patient narratives could be fruitfully deployed for this purpose. Our study shows that narrative research is a promising method for TA as it offers a tool for identifying contextualised dilemma’s experienced by stakeholders and users of large socio-technical systems.

International audience; It was discovered in 1995 that, during the spring time, unexpectedly low concentrations of gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) occurred in the Arctic air. This was surprising for a pollutant known to have a long residence time in the atmosphere; however conditions appeared to exist in the Arctic that promoted this depletion of mercury (Hg). This phenomenon is termed atmospheric mercury depletion events (AMDEs) and its discovery has revolutionized our understanding of the cycling of Hg in Polar Regions while stimulating a significant amount of research to understand its impact to this fragile ecosystem. Shortly after the discovery was made in Canada, AMDEs were confirmed to occur throughout the Arctic, sub-Artic and Antarctic coasts. It is now known that, through a series of photochemically initiated reactions involving halogens, GEM is converted to a more reactive species and is subsequently associated to particles in the air and/or deposited to the polar environment. AMDEs are a means by which Hg is transferred from the atmosphere to the environment that was previously unknown. In this article we review the history of Hg in Polar Regions, the methods used to collect Hg in different environmental media, research results of the current understanding of AMDEs from field, laboratory and modeling work, how Hg cycles around the environment after AMDEs, gaps in our current knowledge and the future impacts that AMDEs may have on polar environments. The research presented has shown that while considerable improvements in methodology to measure Hg have been made the main limitation remains knowing the speciation of Hg in the various media. The processes that drive AMDEs and how they occur are discussed. As well, the roles that the snow pack, oceans, fresh water and the sea ice play in the cycling of Hg are presented. It has been found that deposition of Hg from AMDEs occurs at marine coasts and not far inland and that a fraction of the deposited Hg does not remain in the same form in the snow. Kinetic studies undertaken have demonstrated that bromine is the major oxidant depleting Hg in the atmosphere. Modeling results demonstrate that there is a significant deposition of Hg to Polar Regions as a result of AMDEs. Models have also shown that Hg is readily transported to the Arctic from source regions, at times during springtime when this environment is actively transforming Hg from the atmosphere to the snow and ice surfaces. The presence of significant amounts of methyl Hg in snow in the Arctic surrounding AMDEs is important because this species is the link between the environment and impacts to wildlife and humans. Further, much work on methylation and demethylation processes have occurred but are not yet fully understood. Recent changes in the climate and sea ice cover in Polar Regions are likely to have strong effects on the cycling of Hg in this environment; however more research is needed to understand Hg processes in order to formulate meaningful predictions of these changes. Mercury, Atmospheric mercury depletion events (AMDE), Polar, Arctic, Antarctic, Ice

Im vorliegenden Arbeitsbericht wird den Möglichkeiten und Grenzen neuer Formen der Beratung wissenschafts- und technologiepolitischer Fragen in der Zusammenarbeit von Wissenschaft, Politik und Öffentlichkeit nachgegangen. Der Bericht arbeitet die sozialwissenschaftliche Diskussion um eine Neubestimmung der gesellschaftlichen Rolle von Wissenschaft auf, sichtet die vorliegenden Erfahrungen mit neuen Formen der Kooperation von Experten, Bürgern und politischen Entscheidungsträgern und erörtert auf dieser Basis die Möglichkeiten einer stärkeren Berücksichtigung partizipativer Verfahren im Kontext parlamentarischer Beratungsprozesse zu wissenschafts- und technologiepolitischen Fragen. INHALT ZUSAMMENFASSUNG 3 I. EINLEITUNG 9 II. POLITIK, ÖFFENTLICHKEIT UND WISSENSCHAFT IN TECHNIKKONTROVERSEN 13 1. Politische Öffentlichkeit 15 2. Formwandel staatlicher Steuerung 17 3. Gesellschaftlicher Status von Wissenschaft 18 4. Zwei Modi der Legitimation von Entscheidungen 20 III. PARLAMENT, ÖFFENTLICHKEIT UND POLITIKBERATUNG 23 1. Enquete-Kommissionen und Öffentlichkeit 23 2. Parlamentarische TA-Einrichtungen in Europa 30 IV. PARTIZIPATION UND KOOPERATION – NEUE FORMEN DES DIALOGS 35 1. Nachhaltigkeitsforschung 35 2. Partizipative Verfahren der Technikbewertung 41 2.1 Stakeholder-Verfahren 43 2.2 Bürgerberatung 47 2.3 Aktuelle Tendenzen bei partizipativen TA-Verfahren 49 V. BEWERTUNG PARTIZIPATIVER VERFAHREN 53 1. Demokratietheoretische Einordnung 53 2. Verbindlichkeit und politischer Stellenwert der Verfahren 56 3. Fazit 59 VI. NEUE FORMEN DES DIALOGS UND PARLAMENT 61 LITERATUR 67 1. In Auftrag gegebene Gutachten 67 2. Weitere Literatur 67 ANHANG 75

Kann das Thema E-Commerce nicht ad acta gelegt werden, nachdem der Hype um die New Economy abgeklungen ist? Dieser Band zeigt, daß E-Commerce nichts von seiner enormen Bedeutung für die Modernisierung von Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft verloren hat und nach wie vor eine wichtige Herausforderung auch für die Politik darstellt. In vielen Bereichen ist der elektronische Handel bereits fest etabliert, und die dadurch mittel- und längerfristig ausgelösten Strukturveränderungen müssen bewältigt werden. Aber die Bedingungen für den elektronischen Handel unterscheiden sich grundlegend je nach Branche, Gütern, Akteuren und den ökonomischen und politischen Rahmenbedingungen. Dieser Erkenntnis folgend wurden acht Wirtschaftsbereiche für eine nähere Analyse ausgewählt, nämlich der Handel mit Lebensmitteln, Automobilen, Arzneimitteln, Medienprodukten (Buch, Tonträger, Video), Strom, Wertpapieren und Dienstleistungen sowie die Beschaffungsprozesse im öffentlichen Bereich. Ergänzt werden diese Detailuntersuchungen um Abschätzungen zu den Folgen des E-Commerce (z.B. Arbeitsmarkteffekte, verkehrliche und ökologische Folgen). Außerdem werden Handlungsfelder für Forschung und Politik benannt, die sich insbesondere an den Auftraggeber dieser Studie, den Deutschen Bundestag, richten.