Clinical trials have become key technologies for decision making in the contemporary world. Their results shape medical practice and determine priorities across health care systems, but the work that goes into producing credible data is often hidden. Medical Proofs, Social Experiments draws upon detailed case studies to argue that to understand their value, we need to pay more attention to the contexts for these modern medical experiments, recovering the diverse ways in which they involve doctors, patients and the public, the local practices that contribute to their completion, and the complex negotiation of their results in professional and statutory institutions. Presenting research from the UK, USA, Sweden and The Netherlands, the ethnographic perspective adopted by the authors provides a space to explore the investments of different state, market, professional and other actors in particular forms of evaluation, and the ways in which trial methodologies may be re-designed or re-imagined to satisfy social and political expectations. As such, this volume will be of interest to those working in the fields of science and technology studies, the sociology and anthropology of medicine and researchers of policy and organisation in health care.

The past three decades have seen enormous changes in the organisation of health care. This book explores the role of knowledge production and technology on these transformations, focusing on the market (attempts to embed principles of economic rationality and efficient use of resources in the shaping and delivery of health care), the laboratory (science, experiments and 'evidence' in the management of research, practice and policy) and the forum (the application of deliberative procedures and other forms of public consultation to health care decision making).

The past three decades have seen enormous changes in the organisation of health care. This book explores the role of knowledge production and technology on these transformations, focusing on the market (attempts to embed principles of economic rationality and efficient use of resources in the shaping and delivery of health care), the laboratory (science, experiments and 'evidence' in the management of research, practice and policy) and the forum (the application of deliberative procedures and other forms of public consultation to health care decision making).

Clinical trials have become key technologies for decision making in the contemporary world. Their results shape medical practice and determine priorities across health care systems, but the work that goes into producing credible data is often hidden. Medical Proofs, Social Experiments draws upon detailed case studies to argue that to understand their value, we need to pay more attention to the contexts for these modern medical experiments, recovering the diverse ways in which they involve doctors, patients and the public, the local practices that contribute to their completion, and the complex negotiation of their results in professional and statutory institutions. Presenting research from the UK, USA, Sweden and The Netherlands, the ethnographic perspective adopted by the authors provides a space to explore the investments of different state, market, professional and other actors in particular forms of evaluation, and the ways in which trial methodologies may be re-designed or re-imagined to satisfy social and political expectations. As such, this volume will be of interest to those working in the fields of science and technology studies, the sociology and anthropology of medicine and researchers of policy and organisation in health care.

Ageing is widely recognised as one of the social and economic challenges in the contemporary, globalised world, for which scientific, technological and medical solutions are continuously sought. This book proposes that science and technology also played a crucial role in the creation and transformation of the ageing society itself. Drawing on existing work on science, technology and ageing in sociology, anthropology, history of science, geography and social gerontology, Science, Technology and the Ageing Society explores the complex, interweaving relationship between expertise, scientific and technological standards and social, normatively embedded age identities. Through a series of case studies focusing on older people, science and technology, medical research about ageing and ageing-related illnesses, and the role of expertise in the management of ageing populations, Moreira challenges the idea that aging is a problem for the individual and society. Tracing the epistemic and technological infrastructures that underpin multiple of ways of aging, this timely volume is a crucial tool for undergraduate and graduate students interested in social gerontology, health and social care, sociology of aging, science and technology studies and medical sociology.

Ageing is widely recognised as one of the social and economic challenges in the contemporary, globalised world, for which scientific, technological and medical solutions are continuously sought. This book proposes that science and technology also played a crucial role in the creation and transformation of the ageing society itself. Drawing on existing work on science, technology and ageing in sociology, anthropology, history of science, geography and social gerontology, Science, Technology and the Ageing Society explores the complex, interweaving relationship between expertise, scientific and technological standards and social, normatively embedded age identities. Through a series of case studies focusing on older people, science and technology, medical research about ageing and ageing-related illnesses, and the role of expertise in the management of ageing populations, Moreira challenges the idea that aging is a problem for the individual and society. Tracing the epistemic and technological infrastructures that underpin multiple of ways of aging, this timely volume is a crucial tool for undergraduate and graduate students interested in social gerontology, health and social care, sociology of aging, science and technology studies and medical sociology.

This book focuses on the United States' views and political actions in Portugal during the democratic transition, and should not be taken for a history of the Portuguese revolution. In other words, its aim is to evaluate the impact of American actions in the final outcome of the transition from an authoritarian regime to democracy in Portugal. To that end, extensive research was carried out during a four-year period, both in the US and in Portugal, privileging primary sources, especially American and Portuguese archival materials, many of which were previously unpublished.

This book deals with a successful example of U.S. support to the transition from an undemocratic regime to a democratic one in Portugal. As Samuel Huntington wrote, Portugal represented the beginning of the "Third Wave of Democracy" and his example served as a model for subsequent democratization of Spain, Latin America and even the countries of the former Soviet Union. The Portuguese case of 1974-1976, is especially important now, as we witness the beginning of a fourth wave of democratization throughout the Middle East.