Cholesterol and Fats Causes Of Heart Disease

Introduction

Symbolic interactionism is a much older tradition than actor- network theory. Its practitioners are primarily concerned with the collective social negotiation of meanings. Like the actor-network theorists, they emphasize process and shun deterministic macro- social theorizing. They have studied a wide variety of social groups and phenomena - the family, ethnic communities, race relations, teenage gangs, social deviance, art and, recently, science. They have a long history of studying the organization of work and the professions.

Thus, when they turned their attention to science, they approached it as an occupation, not as a body of specialized esoteric knowledge. Like Jerome Ravetz, Harry Collins, Bruno Latour and Steve Woolgar, they have emphasized the everyday work con- tingencies and craft aspects of scientific knowledge construction. While cholesterol has a bad reputation for clogging up arteries and causing heart disease, this fatty molecule is an essential part of all cell membranes.

Scientists have now found to their surprise that cholesterol may also regulate when and where nerve cells in the brain form the vital junctions known as synapses. The symbolic interactionists Adele Clarke, Joan Fujimura and Susan Leigh Star have used the concept of 'social worlds' to analyze how scientists and others create knowledge. Social worlds are loosely or rigidly structured units in which people share re- sources and information. They are characterized by a commitment to common assumptions about what is important, and what should be done. People typically participate in several social worlds, which can be organized around work, leisure activities, family life, politi- cal or religious convictions. Participation can be variable - some- times a few individuals form an activist core, while others hover at the periphery.

It is here that cooperation and conflict often become visible. Through alliances and boundary struggles, actors in different social worlds create the opportunities and constraints which allow some voices to be heard while others are stifled. Often, several worlds form an arena of common interest around a particular issue, such as solving the problems of cancer or heart disease. Social worlds are not fixed and homogeneous, but fluid and heterogeneous. They sometimes split or merge. They are primarily self-organizing units in which people pursue common goals. Sociological explanations which use social worlds are, therefore, similar to analyses which use actors' interests to explain the construction of knowledge. However, social worlds theory offers a potentially richer and more complex analytical landscape. As well as scientists' knowledge claims and interests, we can include other social actors involved or implicated in a particular scientific problem. The inter- sections between social worlds are particularly important sites in controversies.

Thesis Statement

Should Americans eat less saturated fat and cholesterol? Would a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet bring about a significant reduction in the rate of coronary heart disease?

Cholesterol and other Dietary Foods and Coronary Heart Diseases

The statistical significance of the result depended on the number of heart attacks in the control group compared to the number in the experimental intervention group - that is, in the ...