New technologies and the science that created them have transformed<br>our lives, posing challenges as to how technological change can be<br>better integrated into society. Over the last few decades, recognition<br>of these issues has led to different ways of engaging the public in the<br>assessment and regulation of emerging technologies. However, diverse<br>factors such as existing regulatory frameworks specific to<br>jurisdictions, local cultural contexts, and the nature of particular<br>technologies have ensured that there is no single approach.<br><br> <br><br>This book puts the subject of publics and their engagement with<br>emerging technologies on a robust footing. With a strong, though not<br>exclusive, focus on genomic technologies, leading theorists and<br>practitioners in the field provide overviews of methods and approaches<br>and theoretical accounts of the processes underlying public engagement.<br>They also offer precise and clear insights into the key issues of<br>public participation studies, including ethics, process, and principles<br>of knowledge distribution in democratic societies. The discussion is<br>particularly pertinent and central to current concerns in health,<br>technology, and public participation at a time when the reform of<br>public and private sector health and social care services are being<br>debated globally.<br><br> <b>Kieran O'Doherty</b> is an assistant professor in<br>the Department of Psychology at the University of Guelph.<br><b>Edna Einsiedel</b> is a professor of communication<br>studies in the Department of Communication and Culture at<br>the University of Calgary.