Projects

The Louvre Museum at Abu Dhabi

In 2007, the Louvre Museum and the French Government decided to participate in the opening of a new section of the museum in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (in exchange for a sum said to be between $800 million and $1 billion). Not surprisingly, such a move prompted sharp controversy regarding the politics of art and the impact of the decision on museum studies, cultural tourism, as well as the larger question of the relation of culture to economy.
Institution: Sciences-po
Year: 2008
URL: http://ionesco.sciences-po.fr/com/2007/groupe12/wordpress/

Wind Energy

Given the increasing price of fossil fuel both in economical and ecological terms, wind energy is considered one of the most promising alternatives. Yet its development is everywhere surrounded by endless disputes on technical efficiency and environmental impact. Is wind energy a sustainable source of energy? Can it replace fossil fuels? Institution: Sciences-po
Year: 2008

Green Tides

For more than 30 years, the beaches of Brittany have been soiled by abnormal amount of ulva (or 'green tides') , leading to debates and tensions between a large forum of actors (population, farmers, environmentalists, trade unions, local and national government, EU...). These debates, presented in this study, range from the very local question of how to dispose of ulva to the European standards of drinking water.
Institution: ENSMP
Year: 2007
URL: http://www.sciences-po.org/projets_controverses/marees_vertes/

The Gulf Stream fragility

Tout écolier apprend l'importance du Gulf Stream pour le climat à tel point que sa présence semble aller de soi. Pourtant, rien ne garanti aujourd'hui sa pérennité. Qu'en est-il ? Le Gulf Stream va-t-il disparaître ? Et quelles en seraient les conséquences ? Ce sujet s'adresse plus particulièrement à ceux qui seraient intéressés par la le réchauffement climatique.
Institution: Sciences-po
Year: 2006
URL: http://controverses.ensmp.fr/prive/promo06/C06B3/accueil(1).htm

Le barrage de Poutès

Le barrage hydraulique de Poutès est situé sur l'Allier, rivière qui regroupe les dernières frayères de Grand Saumon en Europe de l'Ouest. Actuellement, on constate que la population de saumon dans l'Allier a diminué de façon flagrante. On peut alors se demander si le barrage de Poutès est le principal facteur de la disparition du Grand Saumon. Cette question a été ravivée récemment par l'expiration de la concession d'EDF en décembre 2006. L'Etat, aussi bien au niveau national qu'au niveau local, a la charge du renouvellement de cette concession et doit arbitrer entre les politiques favorisant les énergies renouvelables et les directives pour la protection des espèces en voie de disparition. Afin d'être le plus objectif possible, l'Etat a commandé une enquête auprès d'organismes régionnaux. D'autre part, des associations écologiques mènent une compagne engagée pour le démantèlement du barrage. Des réflexions sont menées sur l'ampleur de la mesure à prendre : démantèlement total ou solution intermédiaire.
Institution: ENMSP
Year: 2006
URL:

Electromagnetic waves of mobile telephones

A bitter debate has emerged in the last few years around the effects of electromagnetic waves on human health. To limit the scope of the issue, one research project focuses specifically on waves produced by mobile telephones. The ensuing debate that unfolds via the Internet is observed and analyzed. The website for this project is thus a meta-website: a map of the issue as it is debated via the World Wide Web.
Institution: Sciences-po
Year: 2008
URL: http://ionesco.sciences-po.fr/com/2007/groupe2/ondes/

Are bees disappearing because of pesticides ?

IIf beekeepers have no doubt about their toxicity, scientifics still have trouble finding accurate evidence. However, to avoid risk, two pesticides have already been prohibited : Regent (based on fibronil) and Gaucho (based on imidaclopride) in 2004 and 2006. Yet, bees are still disappearing at an alarming rate, and threaten to die out.A new insecticide, called Cruise, has revived the controversy.Is it possible to prove that pesticides are indeed responsible for bees disappearance ? Or do we have to consider other possibilities, such as the importation of foreign bee species or the loss of biodiversity ?
Institution: Sciences-po
Year: 2008
URL:http://ionesco.sciences-po.fr/scube/pesticides/

Three Gorges Dam, China

The Three Gorges Dam was completed on October 30, 2008. Spanning the Yangze River in China's Hubei province, it is the largest hydroelectric power station in the world. And like any dam of this size, massive controversies have arisen over the costs and benefits of its existence. The controversy surrounding the Three Gorges Dam encompasses a multiplicity that we have broken down into four categories of Social, Economic, Environmental and Political. In this website, we explore these controversies, teasing apart how competing knowledge claims and actants/actors interact to create an enduring controversy. The complex spatial and temporal relations between the various realities of the dam confuse the numerous knowledge claims and we conclude that the controversy surrounding the Three Gorges Dam is much more complex that it appears at first sight.
Institution: Oxford University
Year: 2009

Stem cells

In the last few years, medical research has made growing use of human stem cells (most specifically embryonic ones). Though successful in terms of research objectives, such use has been increasingly criticized as devaluing the worth of human life. What is most interesting about this controversy is that the philosophical and ethical questions (such as what is a human being? which are the essential rights of humans? where lie the limits of humanity?) have been inscribed in a very technical debate on the specific scientific procedures regarding how stem cells can be created, used, conserved and destroyed.
Institution: Sciences-po
Year: 2008
URL: http://ionesco.sciences-po.fr/com/2007/groupe10/

On cochlear implants

Institution: ENSMP
Year: 2007
URL: http://controverses.ensmp.fr/prive/promo06/C06B1/

Is it necessary to save the premature child ?

Un enfant naît à terme aux alentours de la 39e semaine de grossesse. On parle de prématurés si la naissance survient avant 37 semaines, et de "grand prématuré" si elle se produit avant 33 semaines. Environ 7 des enfants naissent ainsi avant terme, un chiffre en constante augmentation, notamment avec le plus grand nombre de grossesses multiples. Dans les pays développés, on arrive désormais à faire survivre des bébés dès la 25e semaine de grossesse. Les modes ventilatoires et les médicaments utilisés manquent de spécificité et n'ont pas tous été définitivement validés chez les grands prématurés. De plus, ces enfants souffrent souvent d'importantes séquelles liées directement au fait d'avoir été sauvés in extremis, grâce à des man½uvres qui relèvent dans certain cas de l'acharnement thérapeutique. Enfin, on ne peut pas évaluer à l'heure actuelle les souffrances physiques endurées par les nourissons. La question se pose donc aujourd'hui de savoir s'il faut faire survivre ces bébés coûte que côute ?
Institution: ENSMP
Year: 2006
URL: http://controverses.ensmp.fr/prive/promo06/C06B7/

Implants auditifs vs langage des signes

En France l'idée s'est imposée que les sourds disposent de leur propre langage : le langage des signes. Et ce langage ferait partie de leur identité. Cette idée est cependant vivement contestée ailleurs, où l'on plaide au contraire pour l'usage d'implants qui, dès lors qu'ils interviennent suffisamment tôt, permettraient aux sourds de percevoir, à leur manière, des sons et d'en articuler, de sorte que les sourds puissent s'insérer dans l'ordre ordinaire de la parole parlée. Cette solution est cependant critiquée par les défenseurs du langage des signes, précisément au nom de l'identité propre des sourds. Le sujet est passionnant et mêle intimement des questions scientifiques et éthiques. En outre, nous disposons d'entrées privilégiées dans cette controverse.
Institution: Sciences-po
Year: 2007
URL: http://www.sciences-po.org/projets_controverses/implants_cochleaires/

Shaken baby syndrome

L'appellation "syndrome du bébé secoué" est née dans les années 1970 pour décrire une combinaison de symptômes. Cependant, ces symptômes sont-ils vraiment caractéristiques d'une maltraitance ? Peuvent-ils avoir d'autres causes ? Que doit faire la justice lorsqu'un cas de maltraitance attribuée au syndrome du bébé secoué doit être jugé ?
Institution: ENSMP
Year: 2003
URL:

Does the gene of violence exist ?

L'explication du comportement humain est depuis longtemps, un sujet de débats mêlant technique scientifique et philosophie. Les progrès majeurs réalisés en génétique ont donné naissance à de nouvelles théories à ce sujet. En effet, de nombreux chercheurs se sont mis en quête de gènes, tels les gènes du crime et de la violence. Leur but est simple : trouver le gène fautif et le soigner.
Institution: ENSMP
Year: 2001
URL:

The cure of hyperactive children

What is a hyperactive child, and should he/she be cured, and if so, how and with what drugs? This controversy involves a growing number of stakeholders: families, medical professionals, medical institutions, and pharmaceutical companies.
Institution: Sciences-po
Year: 2008

Should systematic screening of deafness be allowed for newborn babies ?

IIn a recent report, the French Health Authority, supported by the association of the French ENT specialists, recommends the systematic screening of deafness for every baby and from the age of one or two days. Currently the screening occurs very late, at the age of six months, and concerns only the children that present some warning signs. This report was highly criticised by various associations. Both the efficiency of the screening test and its soundness are controversial. Parents associations fear the trauma caused by an early announce of the handicap, when Deaf people’s organisations denounce a new kind of discrimination.
Institution: Sciences-po
Year: 2008
URL: http://ionesco.sciences-po.fr/scube/depistage_surdite/

The role of genes in Alzheimer's disease

IOur controversy deals with the role of genes in Alzheimer's disease. What are the different kinds of Alzheimer's disease and what is the role of genes in each kind? We also discuss the worthewhileness of using genetic detecting tests and how to face their ethic and economic problems. Finally we describe the different ways of treating Alzheimer's disease and the follow-up of patients from the diagnosis to the medical or psychological treatments.
Institution: Sciences-po
Year: 2008
URL: http://ionesco.sciences-po.fr/scube/alzheimer/

Folic Acid fortification of bread and flour, UK

The website aims to map the knowledge controversy surrounding the fortification of bread and flour with folic acid. It is generally accepted that women should maintain high levels of folate during pregnancy to avoid the possibility of birth defects in their child, such as spina bifida. To this end, women who are pregnant or expecting to become pregnant are recommended to take folic acid supplements. However, many pregnancies in the UK are unplanned, meaning that some women do not have high enough folate levels in the crucial early stages of pregancy - particularly those from lower socio-economic backgrounds. To overcome this problem, many countries have undertaken mandatory fortification of bread or flour with folic acid, and the UK government is now considering this as a policy option. However, in recent years scientific research has identified potential negative impacts for other sectors of the population. The website explores the scientific and ethical controversy and involvement of the various actors in the debate.
Institution: Oxford University
Year: 2009

Vaccine Controversy in the UK

This controversy is particular in that it has flared up at several times throughout the last ten years, although there is no clear starting point. A scientist and doctor, Andrew Wakefield, researched a potential link between the Measles, Mumps and Rubella vaccine (MMR) - an observation that was then taken up by the media, legal actors and parents groups. The communication and interpretation between these and other actors appears to have created the controversy and different physical and non-physical outcomes, for which we have attempted to map and trace the main processes and effects between human and non-human actors.
Institution: Oxford University
Year: 2009

Is it possible to live with wolves in France ?

Dépasser l'opposition caricaturale de l'écologiste la fleur aux dents et du berger au fond de sa montagne pour comprendre les tenants et aboutissants d'une problématique controversée...
Institution: ENSMP
Year: 2003
URL:

String Theory

This controversy has been ongoing for many years, there is a very large amount of information available, and therefore many possible ways of analyzing the debate. In this site, we take a specific scientometric prospective. The history page provides a timeline of significant events in the development of the theory, as well as data on the size and geographic distribution of string theory research over time. We then move on to analyze networks in the scientific community to gain some perspective on how string theory research is conducted. In Networks in the Public Sphere, we look at how the controversy has spilled over into blogs, websites and popular books. We also provide summaries of major actors and a glossary of key terms for reference.
Institution: MIT
Year: 2009

When will the world oil reserves end?

La flambée des prix du pétrole et l'inquiétude qui en résulte ont récemment ravivé la controverse sur la date de l'épuisement des ressources pétrolières. Quand les réserves pétrolières mondiales seront-elles épuisées ?...
Institution: ENMSP
Year: 2005
URL:

Marais poitevin

Jusqu'en 1980, la France voulait assécher les zones humides. Depuis cette date, les décisions de l'Etat vont dans le sens d'une réhabilitation des zones humides...
Institution: ENSMP
Year: 2005
URL:

The A51 Highway

En prolongement du MIG sur ce sujet,nous avons voulu analyser plus en détail les vives polémiques crées par le projet A51, aménagement routier de grande envergure pour un nouveau franchissement alpin. La construction prévue du tronçon manquant entre Grenoble et Sisteron soulève des questions complexes aux niveaux local, national et européen.
Institution: ENSMP
Year: 2004
URL:http://controverses.ensmp.fr/prive/promo04/C04B11/index.html

TGV (Train à haute vitesse) between Munich central station and airport

Le gouvernement bavarois a lancé l'idée il y a une quinzaine d'années de la construction d'un train magnétique à haute vitesse entre la gare centrale de Munich et l'aéroport ...
Institution: ENSMP
Year: 2005
URL:

On EcoZAC Paris Rungis

Institution:
Year:
URL:

The Vélib system

In 2007, the municipality of Paris launched the Vélib project wherein state-owned bicycles were made freely available to anyone within the city limits. Although the notion of bicycles as a public means of transportation has been unanimously applauded, many issues have been raised on the technological quality of the realization. This paradox is at the core of this controversy where everyone agrees on the goals and no one on the means towards realizing it.
Institution: Sciences-po
Year: 2008

Euthanasia

The debate around euthanasia is a compelling example of a socio-technical controversy as the related moral issues are intimately connected to the medical and legal debates. The actual definition of euthanasia is at the centre of the controversy.
Institution: Sciences-po
Year: 2008
URL:http://ionesco.sciences-po.fr/com/2007/groupe11/cmsmadesimple-1.2.3/cmsmadesimple/

DNA tests and immigration control

The French Parliament has recently approved a new law which introduced DNA tests in immigration legislation. Through this law, DNA tests are recognized as a means to validate an individual's membership in a "regroupement familiale" (family group). Such a decision raises serious concerns about privacy, bio-control and eugenics.
Institution: Sciences-po
Year: 2008
URL: http://ionesco.sciences-po.fr/com/2007/groupe3/

The criminal responsibility of medically unconscious subjects

Are medically unconscious subjects responsible for the consequences of their actions? This controversial issue involves the media, public opinion, as well as the judicial and medical sciences.
Institution: Sciences-po
Year: 2008
URL: : http://ionesco.sciences-po.fr/com/2007/groupe4/cmsmadesimple/

The valuation of ecosystem

IThe controversy deals with the valuation of ecosystem. In the framework of payment for ecosystem services, we need to give a price to these services. However it is a real challenge to measure this valuation : as utility can not be measured directly like in the market indeed, there is a huge diversity of methods and theories.
Institution: Sciences-po
Year: 2008
URL:http://ionesco.sciences-po.fr/scube/prix_environnement/

Technologies and politics

Politics – Technologies and politics