Alan Petersen

Monash University, Sociology, School of Political and Social Inquiry, Faculty Member

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My research covers a wide field, including the sociology and politics of bioethics, the social aspects of new and emerging technologies, ageing and mental health, anti-aging medicine, sociology of the body, sociology of risk, and the media production and portrayal of new technology innovations. I have a long standing interest in Michel Foucault's work, especially as applied to health and healthcare. I'm currently undertaking externally funded projects on stem cell tourism, discourses of family, food and obesity, older men's health, and the individual, social and community impacts of compensable injury. His work is funded by the Australian Research Council, and Leverhulme Trust.
Address: Sociology, School of Political and Social Inquiry,
Menzies Building (Bldg 11),
Wellington Road,
Clayton 3800,
Victoria,
Australia

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Mette B Risør

UiT The Arctic University of Norway

Paula Saukko

Loughborough University

Deakin University

KU Leuven

KU Leuven

University of Exeter

University of Bergen

Radboudumc Nijmegen - The Netherlands

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Books by Alan Petersen

The Politics of Bioethics

Papers by Alan Petersen

Managing risks or generating uncertainties? Ambiguous ontologies of testing in Australian healthcare

by Kiran Pienaar and Alan Petersen

Health: An Interdisciplinary Journal for the Social Study of Health, Illness and Medicine, 2020

Medical testing promises to establish certainty by providing a definitive assessment of risk or d... more Medical testing promises to establish certainty by providing a definitive assessment of risk or diagnosis. But can those who rely on tests to offer advice or make clinical decisions be assured of this certainty? This article examines how Australian health professionals, namely clinicians, microbiologists, specialist physicians and health policymakers, delineate the boundary between certainty and uncertainty in their accounts of medical testing. Applying concepts from science and technology studies, and drawing on qualitative data from a sociological study of testing in Australian healthcare, we consider how professionals ascribe meaning to testing and test results. As we argue, for these health professionals, the ‘evidence’ that testing generates has ambiguous ontological significance: while it promises to provide diagnostic certainty and clear direction for advice or treatment, it also generates uncertainties that may lead to yet further tests. Our analysis leads us to question a key premise of testing, namely that it is possible to establish certainty in medical practice via the measurement of individual health risks and disease markers. Against this dominant view, the responses of the health professionals in our study suggest that uncertainty is intrinsic to testing due to the constantly changing, unstable character of ‘evidence’. We conclude by considering the implications of our analysis in light of healthcare’s increasing reliance on sophisticated technologies of ‘personalised’ testing using genetic information and data analytics.

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From overt provider to invisible presence: discursive shifts in advertising portrayals of the father in Good Housekeeping, 1950–2010 (2014)

by Tanja Schneider, Alan Petersen, and Margaret Hogg

Journal of Marketing Management, 2014

This article considers the link between fatherhood and masculinity and identifies some of the key... more This article considers the link between fatherhood and masculinity and identifies some of the key discursive shifts around fatherhood based on an analysis of advertising material that appeared in Good Housekeeping magazine between 1950 and 2010. It provides a socio-historical perspective on fatherhood that reveals a discursive shift from the father as patriarchal family provider/protector to a more ambiguous and less obvious presence in the magazine advertisements. Our findings suggest that family-related advertising in women’s magazines does little to challenge the traditional models of paternal masculinity. Changes in the portrayal of fathers, when examined closely, seem to reinforce traditional gender hegemony. Yet, over time, a ‘multiplicity of possibilities’ of dominant paternal masculinities is emerging, broadening the original ‘breadwinner’ model and perhaps offering some transformative potential around how we view fathers.

Observing Bioethics . By Renée C. Fox and Judith P. Swazey . New York: Oxford University Press, 2008 . Pp. xii+388. $45.00

Amer J Sociol, 2010

Scientists’ and Policymakers’ Representations of Nanotechnologies

Nanotechnology, Risk and Communication, 2009

News Coverage of Nanotechnologies

Nanotechnology, Risk and Communication, 2009

Book reviews : 'RACE' AND HEALTH IN CONTEMPORARY BRITAIN Waqar I. U. Ahmad (ed.) Buckingham, Open University Press, 1993, vi, 247 pp., $123.00 (paperback)

J Sociol, 1997

Biobanks: Challenges for ‘ethics’

Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 09581590500523178, Aug 21, 2006

Since its inception, Critical Public Health has been at the forefront of debate concerning the ec... more

Book reviews : HEALTH IN AUSTRALIA: SOCIOLOGICAL CONCEPTS AND ISSUES Carol Grbich (ed.) Sydney, Prentice Hall, 1996, x, 318 pp., $35.95 (paperback)

J Sociol, 1997

Aging Men, Masculinities and Modern Medicine

Stem cell miracles or Russian roulette?: patients’ use of digital media to campaign for access to clinically unproven treatments

by Casimir MacGregor and Alan Petersen

In this article, we examine how patients use digital media to gain access to treatments that have... more In this article, we examine how patients use digital media to gain access to treatments that have yet to be clinically proven as safe and effective. Making reference to the case of an Australian patient who achieved notoriety following a 60 Minutes television programme in 2014 following her travel to Russia to undertake stem cell treatment, in the article we discuss the dynamic interplay of discourses of hope, risk and trust in this digitally mediated context. As we argue, Web 2.0 digital media provides patient activists with a powerful means to generate their own framings of the significance of treatments especially when linked with more traditional media such as television. Our findings underline how citizens may use digital media to create ‘communities of hope’ that sustain optimistic portrayals of treatments that may be resistant to official, regulatory discourses of risk-benefit and trust. Patients’ growing use of digital media, we conclude, necessitates a reconceptualisation of ‘health’ and ‘risk’ and approaches to regulating treatments that are unproven and hence deemed ‘risky’.

Biofantasies: genetics and medicine in the print news media

Social Science Medicine, Apr 30, 2001

The contemporary news media is an important site for exploring the diverse and complex cultural i... more The contemporary news media is an important site for exploring the diverse and complex cultural images of genetics and its medical possibilities, and of the mechanisms by which these images are (re) produced and sustained. This article investigates how the print news media 'frames' stories on genetics and medicine. It is based on a discourse analysis of articles appearing in three Australian newspapers in the late 1990s. Gene stories were found to be prominent in each of the newspapers, and to emphasise the medical benefits of genetic research. Stories frequently cite and quote scientists, who explain the nature and significance of the research and/or its implications for treatment or prevention. Many stories focus on new genetic discoveries, and portray genetic researchers as involved in a quest to unlock nature's secrets. Stories of hope, and depictions of geneticists as warriors or heroes, appear regularly. The positive vision of genetics is supported by the use of particular metaphors, accompanying illustrative material, 'human interest' stories, and reference to credible sources. There is rarely mention of the influence of non-genetic factors and 'multifactorial' interactions on disorders, or questioning of the goals, direction, methods, or value of genetic research. Scientists made extensive use of the media in their efforts to maintain a positive image of research in the face of public concerns about scientists 'going too far', following the announcement of the cloning of Dolly. Boundaries were drawn between 'therapeutic cloning' } implicitly defined as 'good', useful, and legitimate } and 'reproductive cloning' } seen as 'bad', dangerous, and illegitimate. By framing news stories as they do, the print news media are likely to exert a powerful influence on public responses to health problems. With new genetic technologies becoming more integrated in preventive medicine and public health, it is important to investigate how news stories help shape the agenda for public debate. #

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Community development in health promotion: empowerment or regulation?

Australian Journal of Public Health, 1994

Community development is a concept that currently has wide appeal in public health Imlicy. It has... more Community development is a concept that currently has wide appeal in public health Imlicy. It has become a central element of population-based health pronitxion strategies that purport t o involve community groups in determining the form and purpose of resources for advancing the conirh~nity's health. I t has been variously claimed that community development enipowers individuals and groups, leads to greater commitment by the community and consumers to change, strengthens community values, promotes greater local accountability in use of resources, and redresses inequalities in health. However, the meanings and implications of community development remain obscure. This paper examines the nidtiple and conflicting discourses o f community development, and suggests that the rhetoric of community development has tended not to be matched by the reality of practice. I t concludes that health promoters need to b e much more critical in their assessment of the approach, and to clarify the use of basic terminology such as 'community' and 'empowerment', if their actions are t o contribute t o effective longterm change. (AustJ Public Healfh 1994; 18: 213-17)

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The ethics of expectations: biobanks and the promise of personalised medicine

Monash bioethics review, 2009

Expectations play a major role in 'driving' biotechnology research and development. Howev... more Expectations play a major role in 'driving' biotechnology research and development. However, their ethical significance has been largely overlooked. This article examines the dynamics and ethics of expectations surrounding biotechnologies, focusing on biobanks and the promise of personalised medicines. It explores the personal and social implications of expectations, especially where technologies fail to eventuate. The article identifies the claims and practices that support the expectations pertaining to biotechnologies and some of the factors that work against the fulfilment of predicted innovations. It is argued that the role of expectations in shaping thinking and action needs to be taken seriously by those who are concerned about the ethical implications of biotechnologies.

Who determines priorities in funding medical research

Images of motherhood: Food advertising in Good Housekeeping magazine 1950-2010

Food advertising in Good Housekeeping magazine 1950—20 1 0

A fortunate meeting: Working with Herbert on biobanks

Whose Profit? Why bioethics needs a global perspective

The vicissitudes of'healthy aging': the experiences of older migrant men in a rural Australian community

The Politics of Bioethics

Managing risks or generating uncertainties? Ambiguous ontologies of testing in Australian healthcare

by Kiran Pienaar and Alan Petersen

Health: An Interdisciplinary Journal for the Social Study of Health, Illness and Medicine, 2020

Download

From overt provider to invisible presence: discursive shifts in advertising portrayals of the father in Good Housekeeping, 1950–2010 (2014)

by Tanja Schneider, Alan Petersen, and Margaret Hogg

Journal of Marketing Management, 2014

Observing Bioethics . By Renée C. Fox and Judith P. Swazey . New York: Oxford University Press, 2008 . Pp. xii+388. $45.00

Amer J Sociol, 2010

Scientists’ and Policymakers’ Representations of Nanotechnologies

Nanotechnology, Risk and Communication, 2009

News Coverage of Nanotechnologies

Nanotechnology, Risk and Communication, 2009

Book reviews : 'RACE' AND HEALTH IN CONTEMPORARY BRITAIN Waqar I. U. Ahmad (ed.) Buckingham, Open University Press, 1993, vi, 247 pp., $123.00 (paperback)

J Sociol, 1997

Biobanks: Challenges for ‘ethics’

Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 09581590500523178, Aug 21, 2006

Since its inception, Critical Public Health has been at the forefront of debate concerning the ec... more

Book reviews : HEALTH IN AUSTRALIA: SOCIOLOGICAL CONCEPTS AND ISSUES Carol Grbich (ed.) Sydney, Prentice Hall, 1996, x, 318 pp., $35.95 (paperback)

J Sociol, 1997

Aging Men, Masculinities and Modern Medicine

Stem cell miracles or Russian roulette?: patients’ use of digital media to campaign for access to clinically unproven treatments

by Casimir MacGregor and Alan Petersen

Biofantasies: genetics and medicine in the print news media

Social Science Medicine, Apr 30, 2001

Download

Community development in health promotion: empowerment or regulation?

Australian Journal of Public Health, 1994

Download

The ethics of expectations: biobanks and the promise of personalised medicine

Monash bioethics review, 2009

Who determines priorities in funding medical research

Images of motherhood: Food advertising in Good Housekeeping magazine 1950-2010

Food advertising in Good Housekeeping magazine 1950—20 1 0

A fortunate meeting: Working with Herbert on biobanks

Whose Profit? Why bioethics needs a global perspective

The vicissitudes of'healthy aging': the experiences of older migrant men in a rural Australian community

From overt provider to invisible presence: discursive shifts in advertising portrayals of the father in Good Housekeeping , 1950–2010

Journal of Marketing Management, 2014

ABSTRACT This article considers the link between fatherhood and masculinity and identifies some o... more ABSTRACT This article considers the link between fatherhood and masculinity and identifies some of the key discursive shifts around fatherhood based on an analysis of advertising material that appeared in Good Housekeeping magazine between 1950 and 2010. It provides a socio-historical perspective on fatherhood that reveals a discursive shift from the father as patriarchal family provider/protector to a more ambiguous and less obvious presence in the magazine advertisements. Our findings suggest that family-related advertising in women’s magazines does little to challenge the traditional models of paternal masculinity. Changes in the portrayal of fathers, when examined closely, seem to reinforce traditional gender hegemony. Yet, over time, a ‘multiplicity of possibilities’ of dominant paternal masculinities is emerging, broadening the original ‘breadwinner’ model and perhaps offering some transformative potential around how we view fathers.

Alan Petersen

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