Books

Author	Heinz Bonfadelli, Werner A. Meier
Title	Grüne Gentechnologie im öffentlichen Diskurs
		UVK, Konstanz 270 pages, paperback ISBN 978-3-86764-248-4 SFr 47.90
Summary	For quite some time, green gene technology has been the subject of controversial discussions in Switzerland. On November 27, 2005, the Swiss population approved a 5-year moratorium on the commercial use of genetically modified plants, even though, on June 7, 1998, the »Gene Protection Initiative« had been rejected after an intensive political campaign. This public controversy was the starting point for a research project supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation which examines the social players from industry, science and the media, and also analyses media reporting in the area of green gene technology, as well as the citizens’ opinions and arguments. This publication is only available in German.

Author	Philipp Aerni, Fritz Oser (editors)
Title	Research brings about changes in schools
		seismoverlag 2011, 220 pages ISBN 978-3-03777-100-6 SFr 38. – / Euro 26. –
Summary	Until now, education reforms in Switzerland mainly concerned themselves with the measurability and comparability of subject-specific performances in schools (e.g. article on education, Harmos, PISA). But it is equally necessary to introduce new knowledge in schools. Conveying, in a weakly standardized way, new insights and methods gathered from interdisciplinary research is becoming increasingly important in understanding and solving the sustainability problems of our times (e.g. the food crisis, climate change). But new knowledge often questions existing ideas, convictions and practices and thus encounters resistance from teachers as well as the publishers of teaching aids. The present anthology makes available to a wide readership newer empirical research in the areas of didactics and education in general, as well as history and geography in particular. In their contributions, various renowned people involved in educational policy, educational sciences, sociological research, as well as biological and engineering sciences call for more courage and initiative in the Swiss educational system. They also clearly declare that the achievements of innovative teaching aid publishers and teachers in our society deserve more recognition, as they are the foundation for the capacity of renewal of the educational system and therefore also the basis for a sustainable solution to many societal problems.

Author	Olivier Sanvido, Andreas Bachmann, Jörg Romeis, Klaus Peter Rippe,  Franz Bigler
Title	Valuating environmental impacts of genetically modified crops – ecological and ethical criteria for regulatory decision-making
		vdf Hochschulverlag 192 pages, paperback ISBN 978-3-7281-3443-1 SFr 38.– / Euro 33.–
Summary	The debate on the possible impact of genetically modified (GM) crops on biodiversity shows that so far there is no consensus on generally accepted assessment criteria for environmental harm. This debate stems primarily not from a shortage of data, but rather from the absence of criteria for assessing the effects of GM plants on biodiversity. Since there are no exact assessment criteria, regulatory decision-making processes are often not transparent and can be difficult to understand. This increases the danger that decisions on environmental risks from GM plants may appear arbitrary. The VERDI Project (Valuating environmental impacts of genetically modified crops – ecological and ethical criteria for regulatory decision-making) is a interdisciplinary collaboration between biosafety experts and risk ethicists. Its aim is to develop recommendations for decision makers and regulatory authorities, thus helping to improve the regulation of GM plants. The results show that both the unambiguous description of protection goals and the establishment of a basis of comparison are two essential criteria when defining harm. The book presents a proposal how criteria for the evaluation of GM crops could be developed. The book is directed to all those involved in the debate on benefits and risks of genetic engineering, in particular to decision-makers and regulatory authorities, but also to scientists from academia and the agricultural biotechnology industry.