“Travelling Nanotechnologies”

Supervisor: prof.dr.ir. W.E. Bijker
Co-supervisor: dr. R. Zeiss

The study  is about  how nanotechnologies  travel from the laboratory to different user contexts. Diverse social groups, cultural values and local practices are implicated. The linear  models of technology transfer suggest that one can delineate a set of steps, criteria, measures, inputs and outputs and then hand them as a recipe for replication in a variety of environments. This study argues that such a situation could be true if there were commonalities between the various environments and user groups to which technologies travel. Based on the Social Construction of Technologies (SCOT) as a theoretical framework, the study moves beyond the portayal of technology transfer. The central point which is highlighted in this study is that context matters in the development and subsequent travelling of technologies.

Key words: nanotechnologies, travelling, user contexts