Jackson J
Department of International Politics, University of Wales, Aberystwyth, Dyfed, UK.
Parassitologia. 1998 Jun;40(1-2):193-216.
When making a decision involves the analysis of complex cause-effect relationships, experts are normally consulted to describe the best options available. The global Malaria Eradication Programme relied upon the advice of a small group of experienced malariologists; their counsel directed the most ambitious endeavour in the history of the World Health Organisation. In this essay 1 week to show how that group behaved with a single purpose and ultimately grew to be greater than the sum of its parts because of the control of knowledge. Each member of this epistemic community was willing to battle against malaria as soon as possible--forsaking research, traditional tools, and risking disastrous epidemics--because they believed that residual insecticides could progressively eradicate a disease that killed millions and sapped the lives of countless more. Alternative methods were ridiculed; and the epistemic community used their individual prestige to insert the DDT gospel into the technical forums of the WHO, and the power (and money) forums of the USA. Particular knowledge structures of the post-war decade nurtured a technical solution to malaria, and we shall explore how the WHO and the epistemic community could grow within this environment so compatible to their praxes.
当决策涉及对复杂因果关系的分析时，通常会咨询专家以描述可用的最佳选项。全球疟疾根除计划依赖于一小群经验丰富的疟疾学家的建议；他们的建议指导了世界卫生组织历史上最雄心勃勃的努力。在本文中，作者将用一周时间展示该团队如何为了一个共同目标而行动，以及最终如何因为对知识的掌控而变得比其各部分之和更强大。这个认知共同体的每个成员都愿意尽快与疟疾作斗争——放弃研究、传统工具，并冒着灾难性疫情的风险——因为他们相信残留杀虫剂能够逐步根除一种导致数百万人死亡并使更多人生命衰竭的疾病。其他方法遭到嘲笑；这个认知共同体利用他们个人的威望将滴滴涕信条引入世界卫生组织的技术论坛以及美国的权力（和资金）论坛。战后十年的特定知识结构孕育了一种疟疾的技术解决方案，我们将探讨世界卫生组织和这个认知共同体如何能在与他们的实践如此契合的环境中发展壮大。
