Gene Technology Communication

Abstract

This article reports the second phase of a three-year project on public perceptions of biotechnology, conducted in Perth, Western Australia. The purposes of this second phase were (1) to further develop a computer-based method for investigating public perceptions of biotechnology with individuals and to extend the method to focus groups, and (2) to report the perceptions of “interested publics” about the use of a genetically engineered pig growth hormone, porcine somatotropin (pST). The authors developed a computer database of information about pST to stimulate, in interviews, respondents' articulation of their knowledge and perceptions of biotechnology. The database was a multimedia package, based on a HyperCard stack on a laptop computer, with information about pST in ten different categories. The indicative data of the pilot sets of interviews suggest that the study's methodology provides a fruitful approach to exploring the background knowledge and perceptions of different publics.