In this book experts in the environment, theology and science argue that the challenge posed to society by biotechnology lies not only in terms of risk/benefit analysis of individual genetic technologies and interventions, but also has implications for the way we think about human identity and our relationship to the natural world. Such a profound--they would suggest religious--challenge requires a response that is genuinely interdisciplinary in nature, a conversation that draws as much on expertise in theology and philosophy as on the natural sciences and risk assessment techniques. They argue that an adequate response must also be sociologically informed in at least two ways. First it must draw on contemporary sociological insights about contemporary cultural change, the complex role of expert knowledge in modern complex society and the specific social dynamics of contemporary technological risks. Secondly, it must endeavour to pay sensitive attention to the voice of the lay public in the current controversy over the new genetics. This book attempts to realise such an aim, as a contribution not just to academic scholarship, but also to the public debate about biotechnology and its regulation. Thus the collection includes contributions from scholars in a range of intellectual domains (indeed, many of the chapters themselves draw on more than one discipline in new and challenging ways). The book invites the reader to enter into this conversation in a creative way and come to appreciate more fully the many-sided nature of the debate.

This collaboration between artists, choreographers, researchers, experimental psychologists and cognitive scientists investigates ways in which choreographers and performers make innovative, expressive movement, and audiences interpret what may well be a previously unmapped experience. ""Thinking in Four Dimensions"" is the first book to address the cognitive processes that underpin the creation of new works of contemporary dance. With case studies including data gathered from dance audiences as well as psychological analysis of new dance works, plus interviews with artists and video of performance pieces, ""Thinking in Four Dimensions"" is a unique package. ""Thinking in Four Dimensions"" is available in two formats. The e-book version incorporates text, full-colour images and video, which gives access to unique footage of choreographers and performers creating important new Australian dance works. The d-book is a print-on-demand version of the text with black and white images. This exciting collection of essays suggests that dance-making can be a form of imaginative enquiry - a thinking in time and space - both for those who perform it, and for those who watch.